20 bottles of Maotai liquor produced in 1984 were auctioned for 502 thousand yuan in December, 2010. [Guiyang Evening News]

Top-brand liquors in China such as Maotai and Wuliangye have become new targets for investors amid the domestic excess liquidity, Guangzhou-based Southern Daily reported.

Wuliangye Yibin Co, China's second biggest maker of baijiu (literally "white liquor") by market value announced its plan to raise its liquor prices for 15 kinds of liquor. The price of each bottle has been increased by 40 to 50 yuan, according to previous reports.

But the price hike of top-brand liquors didn't stop buyers. In a supermarket of Guangzhou, consumers turned to low-end products of Maotai such as Maotai Prince liquor since the high-end ones were out of stock.

An unnamed wine store owner in the city told the Southern Daily that his store had sold out all the Maotai liquors. However, he failed to restock more.

Industrial analysts attributed the supply shortage to two other issues: increase in consumption as the Spring Festival approaches and surge of investors entering the market for high-end liquor.

In the past, it was difficult for investors to monetize their stocks of liquor. But now, the situation has changed due to the participation of pawnshops, which had previously closed the door to liquor-store owners.

Recently, Huaxia Pawnshop launched its new service of high-end liquor mortgage aimed at helping customers in urgent need of cash.

Although the service is limited to "old liquors" produced in or before 1980s, industry insiders believe that it is a signal showing that more and more financing institutions will enter the field of liquor, which has definitely ignited investors' confidence.

At the 2010 Poly autumn auction in Beijing, a bottle of Maotai liquor produced in 1958 set a record of 1.12 million yuan. The auction record is another reason that investors are entering the market of high-end liquor, said the report.

Currently, wealthy Chinese people lack channels for investment. While the central government is making efforts to cool down China's overheated property market, the wealthy are looking for alternative methods of investment.

(CRIENGLISH.com December 15, 2010)