As usual we finish our S3 Newsletter with some articles not so closely related to the business world.
On this occasion, we continue with the (recently started) list of the 10 most significant Chinese companies and we once again inform our readers about the NGO that S3 Group supports in solidarity.
The top 10 most significant Chinese companies
After pointing out the most relevant facts on BYD (automotive), we make an abrupt change - a bit incompatible, some might say - to a name that is probably not well known to most of our readers, although it is no less relevant: Kweichow Moutai.
To cut to the chase (no pun intended): China Kweichow Moutai Distillery, by its full name, is - by market capitalisation - as of 2023 the largest beverage company in the world, bigger than Coca-Cola of the US or Belgium’s beer giant AB Inbev. If this information looks baffling, it should not surprise you, because its main product, Moutai, a hard liquor, is little known outside China.
Moutai is in fact a type of ‘baijiu’, literally translated ‘white/clear liquor’, a drink distilled from fermented sorghum, with an alcohol level of between 38 and 55%. No Chinese banquet, worthy of its name, can be complete without a taste of Moutai, often as a welcome drink, as an accompaniment and/or to end lunch or dinner (not always suitable for the most delicate Western diners!).
Although the history of baijiu dates back more than two millennia, it was under the communist regime of the last century that multiple producers were consolidated into a single, state-owned distillery, Kweichow Moutai, in Guizhou province, located in southwest China. https://www.moutaichina.com/mtgfen/
Solidary support to the Chemin Neuf NGO ‘Enfants de la Rue de Kinshasa’
Our regular readers already know that for more than a decade, S3 Group and its team have been supporting an NGO that helps, trains and often reconciles street children with their families in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The organisation, called ‘Ndako Ya Biso’ (‘our home’ in the local language), was started in 2003 under the leadership of Belgian priest Jean-Pierre Godding. The NGO has already managed to help hundreds of children throughout its history, an incredible achievement in a complex environment.
Would you also like to donate to support this fantastic initiative?
It's as simple as making a bank transfer to:
Caritas International Belgium, IBAN BE10 2100 4715 6604
Reference: P 1275 Solidarité Enfants de la Rue de Kinshasa/RD Congo
