A drinks maker has become China’s most valuable publicly-listed company, overtaking the country’s biggest bank.

Kweichow Moutai is a luxury spirit favoured by Chinese politicians and businesspeople looking to impress.

The company’s share price has risen dramatically this year, pushing its value to new highs, BBC reported.

Despite producing one of China’s most prestigious brands, few people will have heard of it outside of the country until now.

As its value has risen, Kweichow Moutai has leapfrogged Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest commercial bank by assets, to become the country’s most valuable public company.

Its share price has rocketed more than 20% so far this year according to data from Refinitiv and it is one of the few Chinese listed companies whose share price has exceeded 100 yuan (£11, $14).

Chinese tech giant Alibaba is more valuable, but isn’t listed in China. Huawei, another well-known Chinese company, is privately owned.

Based on Monday’s closing share prices, Kweichow Moutai is currently valued at more than 1.8tn yuan. ICBC is currently worth just under 1.8tn yuan.