Moutai's "Money Bag" is lost! Financial Director Jiang Yan is under investigation—how to resolve the governance dilemma of the trillion-yuan liquor company

Word | Perseverance

Source | Bowang Finance

Not long ago, a notice from the Guizhou Provincial Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Committee caused a stir in the capital market: Jiang Yan, a member of the Guizhou Moutai Party Committee, deputy general manager, chief financial officer, and secretary of the board, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation.

On the same day, Guizhou Moutai issued a notice confirming that it had received a notification from the Zunyi City Supervisory Committee regarding the detention of Jiang Yan.

This is not the first time Guizhou Moutai has fallen into a vortex of executive corruption.

As the “stock king” of A-shares with a market value exceeding 1.8 trillion yuan, Guizhou Moutai, a giant in the liquor industry, has seen several former senior executives investigated in recent years—from Yuan Renguo to Gao Weidong, and from Gao Weidong to Ding Xiongjun. The successive fall of three “top leaders” of Moutai has exposed governance flaws of this state-owned backbone enterprise to the public eye once again.

What is even more thought-provoking is that Jiang Yan is not an ordinary senior executive. She holds three key positions: deputy general manager, chief financial officer, and secretary of the board, forming the core of Guizhou Moutai’s vast financial landscape, and serving as the “official face” of this trillion-yuan enterprise in the capital market.

Her investigation not only signifies a breach in internal supervision at Guizhou Moutai but also reflects a deep-seated governance crisis behind the rapid development of this liquor leader.

01

Jiang Yan Investigated: The Fall of a Core Figure in Moutai’s Financial Empire

Data from Tianyancha shows that Jiang Yan was born in June 1977, holding a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in business administration. Her career can be clearly divided into two phases: banking and Moutai. In 2001, she joined the Guizhou branch of the Bank of China; after participating in the establishment of the Industrial Bank Guizhou branch in 2012, she joined Moutai in October of the same year.

Within the Moutai system, Jiang Yan’s trajectory points to a core mission: to build and operate a modern industrial financial platform for this white liquor giant with astonishing cash flow. She led the establishment of Guizhou Moutai Group Financial Co., Ltd. and served as risk director. This institution, known as Moutai’s “internal bank,” had total assets of 18k yuan and a net profit of 634 million yuan as of June 30, 2025.

Starting in 2014, Jiang Yan spearheaded and managed Moutai Jianxin (Guizhou) Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. and Moutai (Shanghai) Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. The former is an important platform for Moutai’s external industrial investments, while the latter provides financial services to upstream and downstream industries. In March 2021, she also served as vice chairman of Guiyang Guixin Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.

In November 2021, Jiang Yan was appointed as deputy general manager, chief financial officer, and acting secretary of the board of Guizhou Moutai, and in January of the following year, she was officially appointed as secretary of the board. At this point, she held four roles simultaneously: deputy general manager, CFO, secretary of the board, and chairman of the company’s core financial platform. In 2024, her pre-tax remuneration from the listed company totaled 818.4k yuan.

It is worth noting that the secretary of the board is not merely a “secretary” in name. According to company law and capital market rules, the secretary of the board (董秘) is a senior management position legally designated in listed companies, serving as the sole official channel for communication between the company and the capital market (including regulators, stock exchanges, investors, and media).

According to China Business News, Wu Gangliang, a researcher at the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association, pointed out that the secretary of the board is responsible for preparing shareholder and board meetings, document management, managing shareholder information, handling disclosure of information, and investor relations. Calling them the “face” of the company is not an exaggeration.

Wu further analyzed that while the chairman bears primary responsibility for information disclosure management, the secretary of the board is responsible for organizing and coordinating disclosure affairs and has access to key internal control points, making them closer to daily governance details than the chairman. “If the secretary of the board gets into trouble, it could mean failures in information disclosure, financial management, and the operation of the three meetings.”

02

Corruption Chain: The Succession of Moutai Executives

Jiang Yan’s investigation is just the latest link in the corruption chain among Moutai executives.

Before her, several former senior executives of Guizhou Moutai had been investigated, from Yuan Renguo to Gao Weidong, and from Gao Weidong to Ding Xiongjun. The successive fall of these three “top leaders” is rare among A-share listed companies.

Additionally, multiple other senior executives, including Nie Yong, former chairman of Moutai E-commerce Co., Ltd., Gao Shouhong, former deputy general manager of Moutai Group, and Zhang Jiaqing, former deputy general manager of Guizhou Moutai Co., Ltd., have also been investigated for violations.

Behind the frequent corruption cases at Moutai lies a long-standing hidden利益链 that seeks personal gain through high-end white liquor.

E-commerce and sales companies have become hotspots of corruption, as these areas directly control the distribution rights and sales channels of Moutai liquor, becoming breeding grounds for rent-seeking.

As a key state-owned enterprise, Guizhou Moutai should shoulder the important mission of inheriting Chinese liquor culture and setting industry benchmarks. It should lead in corporate governance, compliance, brand image, and social responsibility, maintaining market trust through robust governance and demonstrating the responsibility of a state-owned enterprise. However, the reality is that it has repeatedly betrayed this “trust.”

03

Governance Dilemma: Superficial Reforms and Deep-seated Contradictions

While corruption is rampant, Guizhou Moutai is also under pressure from slowing performance growth.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Guizhou Moutai achieved a total operating revenue of 148.27B yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.36%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 818.4k yuan, up 6.25%. Although still on an upward trend, this growth rate has significantly slowed compared to previous years.

In response to governance crises, Guizhou Moutai has been making a series of adjustments.

In November 2025, Guizhou Moutai held an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, approving the “Proposal on the Dissolution of the Supervisory Committee.” According to the proposal, the supervisory committee will be abolished, current supervisors will resign simultaneously, and the statutory powers of the supervisory committee will be exercised by the audit committee of the board of directors.

This adjustment responds to the new Company Law implemented on July 1, 2024, which explicitly states in Article 121 that a joint-stock company may, according to its articles of association, establish an audit committee composed of directors to exercise the functions of the supervisory committee. The law also allows for the abolition of the supervisory committee. Nearly 2,000 listed companies have announced the removal of the supervisory committee.

According to China Daily Economic News, some analysts believe that as a player in the liquor industry, Guizhou Moutai’s move to abolish the supervisory committee is a positive response to regulatory policies and a necessary adaptation to market development trends. Moreover, abolishing the supervisory committee does not weaken oversight but rather optimizes and consolidates supervisory responsibilities.

However, given the frequent corruption cases, whether this governance restructuring can truly strengthen internal supervision remains to be seen.

In recent years, Guizhou Moutai Group has experienced frequent leadership changes, with three chairmen: Gao Weidong, Ding Xiongjun, and Zhang Deqian. In October 2025, the group again adjusted its top leadership, with Zhang Deqian stepping down as chairman and Chen Hua, director of Guizhou Energy Bureau, taking over.

According to Shenzhen Business Daily·Duchuang, Chinese liquor analyst Xiao Zhuqing pointed out that these leadership changes, especially the appointment of government officials from outside the Moutai system, indicate that Guizhou provincial authorities are strengthening their control over Guizhou Moutai Group.

Xiao also believes that during this deep economic adjustment cycle, whether Guizhou Moutai can navigate the challenges is a tough test. It needs to slow down proactively, reduce channel inventory pressure, and meet the performance growth assessments set by local authorities. This creates a dilemma: leaders parachuted from the government may have more initiative in communicating with the government to gain understanding for Moutai’s slowdown.

Frequent leadership changes may bring new governance ideas but could also disrupt strategic continuity and increase operational uncertainty.

Conclusion

Jiang Yan’s investigation once again places Guizhou Moutai at a crossroads of governance reform.

As one of the highest market value companies on the A-share market, Moutai must face not only market pressures from slowing growth but also address deep-rooted governance flaws.

With anti-corruption efforts continuing to deepen, Guizhou Moutai still has a long way to go in purifying its environment and improving governance. What Moutai needs is not just superficial institutional adjustments but a profound cultural transformation in governance.

Only by establishing a governance system compatible with modern corporate standards can Moutai shed its label as a “hotbed of corruption” and achieve a leap from “big” to “great.” Otherwise, no matter how impressive its performance or how strong its brand, governance flaws will remain a Damocles’ sword hanging over this liquor giant.

As for where Moutai will go in the future, Bowang Finance will continue to follow.