China's
growing number of super-rich are bored with flash automobiles and are
looking for new ways to spend their money. That creates big
opportunities for western makers of private jets and yachts, argues Channel News Asia.
The paper interviews a 30-year Chinese entrepreneur , Chen Zhipeng, who has set up Longda Yachting Club in Tianjin early this year and has already signed up 100 members. China's entry in the America's Cup has also stimulated interest in sailing.
China's yacht market is worth some $340m annually and is expected to grow to $30bn dollars by 2015. I'm not quite sure where they got that last number -- like a lot of predictions made for China it looks suspiciously large and approximate.
But even if the market only grows to be a tenth of that figure, it is still a golden opportunity for western suppliers and marina developers, as Chinese firms have little experience in this sector. For example, 90% of the equipment on boats built in China is currently imported.
Daryl Wakefield president of Westport Yachts, the largest yacht maker in the US, says:
We see it [China] as an upcoming market for us. It may not be ready today, but part of it is to get some exposure here and learn more about the market. The infrastructure may not be in place just yet, but it's clearly on the way and so we are always looking for the future."
Go here to download a report on China's fledgling boating industry. Or here for more on China Team, the first America's Cup contender to be built in China.
