Moutai’s home base bans alcohol during official functions

Guizhou province, home to China’s famed Baijiu producer Kweichow Moutai in southwestern China, is to ban drinking alcohol during official functions from 1 September, a new regulation that caused Moutai’s stocks to plummet on Tuesday when the directive was announced.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Moutai which has already surpassed Diageo as the world’s most valuable distiller, slipped as much as 2.8% on the Shanghai stock exchange when the Guizhou government issued the directive on 21 August.

In addition to banning officials from drinking alcohol at official activities from meetings to meals, it also forbids individuals or organisations from offering alcoholic drinks to civil servants even if the beverages are paid for out of their own pocket.

The upcoming ban, known as the “Complete Prohibition of Alcohol in Guizhou,” applies to all government bodies, justice departments, government-affiliated organisations and staff employed at these institutions. Provincial state-owned enterprises and financial institutes are advised to, “refer to the regulation for implementation.”

But there are exceptions to the booze ban. The regulation states that important events related to attracting foreign investments or foreign affairs can serve alcohol but have to report in advance to event organisers as well as filing a record to the provincial discipline body.

The central government proposed a national ban on alcohol for civil servants in 2009 but it was never adopted. After Chinese president Xi Jinping came into power in 2012, the country has launched a more comprehensive and tougher crackdown on lavish official spendings on meals as part of Xi’s anti-corruption drive.

Guizhou, however, is not the first province to introduce an alcohol ban for official functions. Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Anhui and Xinjiang have previously introduced similar regulations, writes China Daily.

China’s notorious boozy official banquets, coupled with the ganbei culture, meaning ‘bottoms up’ in English, encourages people to drink up everything. This has claimed many lives of government officials and business executives in the country. According to Chinese media reports, at least 21 government officials have died since the 18th Party Congress in 2012 from excessive and binge drinking.