VIN & Sprit AB, the Swedish maker of Absolut vodka, formed a joint venture with a maker of baijiu, a traditional Chinese spirit, to expand in the world's fastest-growing major economy.
The Nordic company will own a 51 percent stake in the venture with JianNanChun, China's third-largest baijiu maker by revenue, according to a statement posted yesterday on its Website. More than 520 million cases of the spirit are sold annually in China, compared with 497 million cases for the world vodka market, said the state-owned, Stockholm-based distiller.