Shuli Ren, Columnist

In China, Baijiu and HPV Vaccines Have Something in Common

Similarities between Kweichow Moutai and Zhifei Biological are striking.

June 18, 2018 at 10:00 PM UTC

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

Moats are rare in China, and they don’t come cheap.
Photographer: J. B. Reed/Bloomberg

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At first blush, HPV vaccines and Chinese rice wine don’t have much in common. But there are striking similarities between baijiu distiller Kweichow Moutai Co. and Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co.

For a start, shares in both have been on a tear. Kweichow Moutai is up 65 percent over the past 12 months, while Zhifei Biological, Merck & Co.’s exclusive sales agent in China, has risen 135 percent.