Suntory has agreed to sell whisky and other spirits in mainland China through Alibaba’s Tmall.com platform.

Nikkei reported that Suntory has opened a store on Tsmall.com, through its US unit Beam Suntory.

The store sells products such as Marker’s Mark bourbon, Courvoisier Cognac and Jim Beam. Suntory’s popular Japanese whiskies Hibiki and Yamazaki are also available.

Alongside improving its online presence, the partnership will enable Suntory to sell liquors through Alibaba’s offline outlets RT-Mart and Hema.

“Investment has always been on the discussion table and we have been making investment even before the tax cut.”

The brand also intends to boost capacity usage and add more ageing barrels.

Last week, Suntory Holdings told The Nikkei that it would invest $904m over the next five years to boost bourbon production in the US. The majority of this amount will be invested in Kentucky distilleries operated by Beam Suntory.

According to Suntory Holdings president Takeshi Niinami, this decision was taken partly due to high corporate tax cuts in the US. Corporate tax rate dropped from 35% to 21%, which is seen as a major overhaul in almost 30 years in the US.

A spokesperson for Suntory was quoted by The Spirits Business as saying: “I can confirm that the investment will be taking place, but President Trump’s tax cut is not the trigger of the investments.

“Investment has always been on the discussion table and we have been making investment even before the tax cut.

“However, we do feel that this tax cut will be a boost to our future actions.”