By Samuel Shen
SHANGHAI (Reuters Life!) - Well-heeled Chinese can now invest in fine wines via the mainland's first "wine futures", but the vintages on offer are from aspiring local vineyards rather than rare Bordeaux labels.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and CITIC Bank, two of the country's biggest, have recently launched separate investment trusts aiming to raise about 100 million yuan ($15 million) each from the sale of wine from the coastal Shandong province "en primeur", or while it is still in the barrel.
The system, usually reserved for hard-to-find wines from famed regions such as Bordeaux or the Rhone Valley, tickled the palate of Chinese bankers seeking to tap two trends in China's fast-growing economy: an interest in fine wines among increasingly affluent consumers, and rising ambitions among the country's wineries to join the ranks of fine wine producers.
The futures also offer a steadier alternative to the tumbling stock market, analysts said.
China nouveau riche get taste of fine wine investing
Wine futures are already offered by merchants and investment funds through private banks in Hong Kong, but these tend to be for internationally renowned labels.
"Chinese consumers are richer and have become more picky about the quality of wine, so the value in good wine will keep rising," said Wang Yiguo, food industry analyst at China Jianyin Investment Securities.
"Luxury wine, like art, is a good investment, especially when the financial markets are in turmoil."
The trusts allow investors to purchase wines produced by Chateau Junding, owned by China's biggest grain trader, COFCO, from grapes harvested in 2006.
They will have the option of taking delivery of the wine, at a price of 500 to 667 yuan ($73-98) per bottle, in three shipments from October to next June.
For those still suffering a hangover from the Shanghai stock index's 50 percent drop since last October, the trusts also offer payouts with a soothing 8 percent fixed annual return, exceeding China's current inflation rate.
The payments would be made in 18 months' time.
"COFCO is guaranteeing fixed returns because there's not a secondary market in China and Chinese wine brands are not as trust-worthy as foreign brands," said Cai Ying, manager of SDIC Trust Co, which designed the investment product.
WINE AND AFFLUENCE
The Premium Fine Wine Index, which reflects investment in Red Bordeaux and on wines from other regions in France, generated a 75.52 percent return between 2001 and 2006, outpacing gains in major stock indexes, according to wine brokerage Premium Liquid Assets.
China is one of the world's biggest importers of wine and its leading local wine makers, which dominate the domestic wine market by leveraging extensive sales networks, are rushing to build their own luxury brands.
But COFCO's Chateau Junding, opened just last year to make and sell premium wine, has far to go to establish a reputation.
"Bordeaux and Burgundy are already well-recognized wine regions, but it takes time to see whether places like Shandong are suitable for producing good wines," said Matthew Gong, marketing manager of ASC Fine Wines, China's biggest importer.
COFCO rivals Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co and Dynasty Fine Wines Group have also announced plans to expand in the higher-margin luxury segment.
COFCO is offering investors free trips to Chateau Junding for on-site investment research, although Jianyin's Wang said it would take a long time for China's wine investors to mature.
"It requires a lot of knowledge and expertise to evaluate fine wine, whose quality is affected by numerous factors such as the variety of the grapes, climate conditions and the storage environment," he said. "Not many investors in China understand the risks involved."
(US$1=6.828 Yuan)
中国期酒能否成为“液体黄金” 作者：《投资者报》 投资者报(记者冯昭)
葡萄酒是用来喝的，但在一些投资者眼里，它们还可能是保值增值的“液体黄金”。
随着中国中产阶层和私人银行客户的崛起，一些银行开始把理财产品开发瞄准奢侈品消费领域，将顶级客户的日常生活转化为投资生活。
7月10日，中国工商银行(4.90,0.13,2.73%,吧)联手中海信托、中粮集团，将期酒理财概念引入内地，正式推出中国内地第一款期酒概念理财产品——君顶酒庄红酒收益权信托计划；7月11日，中粮君顶酒庄又协同中信银行(5.56,0.25,4.71%,吧)、国投信托在北京创新推出2006年份期酒认藏消费+投资理财项目方案。
期酒理财产品试水中国市场，将会遭遇怎样的境遇？投资者在投资这些新型理财产品时，又该注意些什么呢？
升值底线8%
葡萄酒收藏与投资在国外已有较长的历史，随着我国经济发展水平的提高和人们生活品位的提升，葡萄酒的收藏和投资也被越来越多的国内消费者所认同。此外，今年上半年，在银行理财产品普遍遭遇“零收益”，随着投资环境的恶化，中国工商银行和中信银行相继推出期酒理财产品，可谓另辟蹊径。
“所谓期酒，就是把还没有完全成品的葡萄酒提前销售。” 中国酒业文化联盟秘书长北野告诉《投资者报》记者，“新酒在完成发酵工艺后，便进入橡木桶陈酿环节，被购买者买下所有权后，新酒便成为期酒。这个时候，期酒仍然放置于酒窖中，完全成熟后才会出窖装瓶，属于时尚化消费和酒类市场中的高端。”
安永会计师事务所的一份研究报告显示：“到2010年，中国高端葡萄酒的市场将占到50%，中端酒占40%，而低端酒只占10%，消费结构将完成从正金字塔向倒金字塔的转型。”这给期酒参与银行理财创造了极大的想象空间。
但是，作为一种个性化产品，顶级葡萄酒多来自于法国著名的酒庄，将期酒概念引入中国的时间并不长。2007年6月，张裕投资近两亿元兴建的北京张裕爱斐堡国际酒庄正式开业，并将中国首批期酒同步推向市场。此举看似拉开了国内炒卖期酒的序幕，但是，“国内投资期酒的产业链条尚未真正形成，相对应的行业规范也并没有推出的迹象，正处于市场培育阶段。”北野告诉《投资者报》记者，“即使与其相类似的年份酒，也只有千分之几的市场份额。”
作为引入期酒概念的首款银行理财产品，工行的“君顶酒庄红酒收益权信托计划” 依照期酒的销售方式，在葡萄酒尚处于窖藏期时，就以理财产品的方式向投资者发售，在葡萄酒成熟装瓶后，投资者可根据自身喜好，选择直接消费所购葡萄酒，或持有理财产品至到期赎回资金。其投资对象，则主要面对工商银行私人银行客户及优质个人、法人客户。
据悉，君顶酒庄此次推出的葡萄酒产品由“东方”、“尊悦”、“天悦”三个系列组成，分别由中国工商银行、中信银行代为开发理财产品。“三款期酒的装瓶均在今年年内完成，这样投资者不需等待太长时间即可消费到所投资的葡萄酒；同时理财期限设为18个月，产品到期后，若所投资的葡萄酒升值空间未超过8%的年回报率，投资者便可以选择由酒庄回购；若升值空间超过8%，投资者便可选择保有所认购的葡萄酒。”中国工商银行金融市场部相关负责人告诉《投资者报》记者。
目标指向“液体黄金”
根据国外公布的数据，2007年1月至12月，伦敦的红酒指数平均达到39%的增幅，仅次于石油47%的投资回报。
在红酒投资之前，消费者必须要明确一个概念，值得收藏和投资的红酒并不多。世界上品质上乘的、能够作为期酒收藏和投资的葡萄酒被称为“液体黄金”。这种“液体黄金”之所以能够被投资者和银行等金融机构竞相认购、追捧，恰恰是因为这样一瓶好酒的诞生要具备太多的因素，世界上也仅仅是一些著名的酒庄有资格或有实力进行期酒认藏、投资等项目。
“我们的期酒，每一款产品都是由国家葡萄酒质检中心出一份质检报告，并颁发证书的。在酿制过程中，从发酵、配料、瓶储以及精细程度等多个方面，对理化指标有详尽的说明，并列在产品说明上，并且，每一款产品的认证都有国家葡萄酒质检中心主任的签名。” 中粮君顶酒庄有限公司品牌管理部经理张淙豪告诉《投资者报》记者。
但是，期酒理财在中国内地毕竟是初次试水。大多数红葡萄酒都经不起常年的存放，一般须在上市后2～5年内饮用，只有占总量0.1%的红葡萄酒才具有存放10年以上的潜质。因此，“期酒的操作存在一定风险，毕竟没人知道成品酒究竟会怎样。对于酒商来说，预支现金把窖存葡萄酒的投资风险部分转移到消费者身上。”酒业观察家徐雅玲告诉《投资者报》记者。
与国外相比，“目前国内缺乏红酒的量化质量标准，因此很难在投资上做出量化的规范，评判掺杂太多可控的因素，对投资者而言缺乏说服力。”徐雅玲认为，“而在西方，红酒的量化质量标准相对完善一些，特别是欧美国家，年份、产地、质量以及保存条件都很全面，至少他们有权威的专家团队。”
期酒投资，在世界上若干银行都涉足其中，法国巴黎私人银行和法国兴业私人银行就提供类似的葡萄酒服务项目。期酒是国际通行的对顶级酒庄产品的营销方式，包括波尔多“五大名庄”在内的世界知名酒庄都是通过这种方式得到人们的认可。
据徐雅玲介绍，在法国，即使有几十年经验的专业调酒师，也只能把红酒的年代精确到五年以内，而国内的调酒师则很难达到这个水准，对于普通消费者来说，对顶级红酒的辨别能力更是比较弱的。
据了解，目前，国内葡萄酒质量等级划分还没有一个统一的行业规范，执行的标准也不统一，大多企业根据年份来划分葡萄酒质量等级，也有少数按照产地、葡萄树龄、品种、窖藏年限等来划分。而这些分级办法都只考虑了影响葡萄酒质量的某一个因素，存在一定的片面性，并不能正确全面反映葡萄酒的质量，可能对消费者产生误导。
徐雅玲告诉《投资者报》记者，“从理财的角度来说，首先了解他们的投资标准、货源以及出货渠道是否完善，并学会控制风险，都是投资者买此类理财产品需要注意的。”
KRIS MARGERUM
.jpg)
