Kweichow Moutai, the world’s biggest distiller by market value, said it will hand over 4% of its stock – valued at about 91.95 billion yuan (US$14 billion) – to authorities in its home-base of Guizhou, one of China’s poorest provinces.

A year ago, the maker of the fiery spirit often said to be China’s national drink also donated 4% of its shares to the same financial holding company, as required by the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guizhou.

The transfer request was in keeping with the increasingly difficult financial situation of many provincial and local governments, said Andrew Collier, director of Orient Capital Research. They require contributions to their treasuries from successful Chinese companies to see them through tough times. Southwestern Guizhou is one of the country’s most indebted provinces, and some of its state-owned companies are financially strained, according to Reuters news agency.

Kweichow Moutei, on the other hand, is not only the world’s biggest distiller, but also China’s most valuable listed company.

Guizhou Province State-owned Asset Operation will hold 58,823,900 shares, equivalent to 4.68% of the company’s total equity, according to Japan’s Nikkei news service. The province is also expected to receive more than 700 million yuan in dividends.

The announcement of the transfer came a day before the State Administration for Market Regulation issued rules to strengthen market-price supervision for New Year’s Day and the Lunar New Year in mid-February.

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