Chinese distiller Wuliangye Yibin has announced plans to invest more than 10 billion yuan or roughly $1.4 billion to enhance its infrastructure and capacity to meet the growing demand for Chinese-made liquor. The company, based in the city of Yibin in China's Sichuan province, aims to expand its share in the rapidly growing domestic and international liquor and spirits market.
Despite the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on China's consumption, Wuliangye Yibin was still able to report a respectable performance for its first quarter. During the period, the company achieved sales revenues of over 20.24 billion yuan, a 15 percent increase when compared to the same quarter last year. The company's net profits for the quarter hit over 7.7 billion yuan, a 19 percent year-on-year increase.
Encouraged by the continually growing popularity of its products, Wuliangye Yibin aims to expand its operations through the added investment. The company announced that it will be using its funds to invest in the integration of advanced production and management technologies to boost its capacity and production efficiency. This will include the utilization and integration of intelligent manufacturing technologies, artificial intelligence, big data, and advanced retail models.
Wuliangye Yibin president, Li Shuguang, mentioned in an interview at the sidelines of the Two Sessions event in Beijing that the company is confident that it can hit its previously forecasted double-digit growth this year. Li added that recovery in the market demand in China remains positive and the country is doing a great job in placing the pandemic under control.
LI added that demand for baijiu, the company's core product, is massive in China and major producers are embracing new technologies and opportunities to ensure business growth. The executive boasted that its employees will not have to worry about losing their jobs as the company is actually looking to hire more people as it expands.
Apart from ensuring its own continued growth, Wuliangye Yibin is calling for the unification of all baijiu industrial players to cooperate in the establishment of an international technical evaluation standard. Through the measure, companies can help in the removal of barriers in the Chinese spirit market, while at the same time enhance the international standards of baijiu and other Chinese liquors.
Wuliangye Yibin, along with state-owned distiller Kweichow Moutai Company, is one of the largest producers of the popular Chinese distilled alcoholic beverage baijiu. The company is best known for its Wuliangye brand baijiu, which it boasts is made from five organic grains, namely from corn, glutinous rice, wheat, long-grain rice, and proso millet. The company also producers other trademark liquor spirits, including Tiandichun, Wuliangchun, Wuliangshen, Changsanjiao, and Jinliufu.
