HONG KONG (Reuters Breakingviews) - Concise insights on global finance in the Covid-19 era. ------------------------------------------------- WATERED-DOWN. China’s beverage champion may be feeling a bit parched. The $59 billion Nongfu Spring on Thursday reported sales of $3.5 billion for 2020, down roughly 5%. The company doesn’t break out details, but analysts at CITI estimate sales of bottled water, which make up 60% of the total top-line, fell 6% in the second half. Boss Zhong Shanshan, China’s second-richest man, blamed Covid-19 and summer floods that disrupted logistics. Those factors are temporary, as strict pandemic lockdowns across the People’s Republic lift and seasons change. Even so, China’s consumption recovery remains slow. Seasonally-adjusted retail sales on average shrunk slightly by 0.4% in January and February, while the unemployment rate rose to 5.5% in February - above pre-virus 2019 levels. That puts Nongfu’s eye-watering valuation at risk. Since its blockbuster September debut, the stock has dropped 40% from its peak but still fetches 57 times expected earnings, well above liquor group Kweichow Moutai’s 46 times, according to Refinitiv. (By Yawen Chen) BREAKINGVIEWS Reuters Breakingviews is the world"s leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time. Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.