New | Russian President Putin's praise lifts stock prices of Chinese hard liquor maker Moutai

The shares price of China’s storied liquor maker, Moutai, has been on the rise this week after state television CCTV over the weekend reported Russian President Vladimir Putin’s complimentary remarks on the alcohol.

Kweichow Moutai Company’s stock price (Shanghai: 600519) had risen from 120.33 yuan when it closed last Friday to 128.1 yuan at noon on Tuesday, up more than six per cent. The rise this week has helped the Guizhou-based liquor maker to retake the top spot as the most expensive stock on China's domestic A-share markets.

To the surprise of television viewers and liquor lovers, CCTV broadcast a clip showing Putin twice mentioning the famous liquor brand during a group interview with foreign press in Sochi last Friday.

The Russian president jokingly told a CCTV reporter: “I’ve prepared moutai for you,” when journalists at the group interview were each served with a round of tea, the clip showed.

Later during the interview, the CCTV reporter cited Putin as complimenting the liquor. “He said moutai is excellent, and that Chinese liquors are very strong,” the journalist recalled Putin as saying during the programme aired on Sunday afternoon.

CCTV has yet to broadcast the full interview, but the Russian strong man’s interesting comments and unexpected fondness for the Chinese brand has made the clip one of the hottest items on Chinese video-sharing sites.