The stock price of Tsingtao, China's second-largest brewing group, has taken a sharp dive after a video depicting a worker urinating on malt went viral, The South China Morning Post reported. The video, which has garnered tens of millions of views on social media, features a man dressed in blue overalls and a helmet urinating into a malt container at the beer factory in Pingdu, China, on October 19.
The brewery expressed its shock at the incident and promptly isolated and sealed the malt container. In a statement, the brewery said, "We reported the incident to the police at the earliest opportunity, and public security organizations are involved in the investigation."
A few internet users couldn't resist making a humorous remark about the well-known, light, and effervescent mass-market beers of the country. One individual commented, “I’ve always said the beer here is like horse pee. Turns out I was wrong.”
According to Chinese media outlet Yicai, neither the worker nor the individual who filmed the video were directly employed by the brewery.
In the wake of the viral video, Tsingtao Brewery's shares experienced a significant decline on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday but managed to recover during the afternoon session.
Tsingtao Brewery is a publicly traded company. Asahi Group Holdings formerly held a 19.99% stake in the company, which it sold in December 2017 after failing to achieve the anticipated synergies for its own business over the eight-year period leading up to the sale. (inside.beer, 21.12.2017)
