Sat on a sun-dappled deck of a 60-foot  yacht sipping an iced-coffee and smoking a cigarette, Gordon Hui looks  pleased with himself. 
He has good reason.
Mr Hui, the boss of the Asia operations of UK yacht-builder Sunseeker,
 is poised to seal a massive deal worth  potentially up to 20m pounds ($33m) to sell five yachts - two over a 100  feet (30m) - to a mainland Chinese customer.
"They've done their research. They are  just coming to talk delivery times," he says in between meeting  prospective customers at the Hong Kong Gold Coast Boat Show.
Mr Hui says the market in China for the  deep-hulled, handcrafted luxury yachts that Sunseeker produces in Poole,  Dorset has ballooned from "nothing" two years ago.
Since then Sunseeker, which makes 230 boats a year, has sold around 25 yachts to Chinese customers.
Taste for luxury
China's seemingly insatiable appetite for luxury is a boon for yacht-builders, and other makers of luxury goods, at a time when traditional markets in Europe and the US are struggling.
China's seemingly insatiable appetite for luxury is a boon for yacht-builders, and other makers of luxury goods, at a time when traditional markets in Europe and the US are struggling.
"They get the watch, they get the flashy  car and then they get a yacht," says Silva Yim, the Hong Kong-based  dealer for Princess Yachts, a UK company based in Plymouth.
But it is not all smooth sailing in China for the predominantly European makers of these rich man's toys.
No-one doubts that China's billionaires have deep enough pockets and a taste for ostentation that a super-yacht amply satisfies.
But high taxes, onerous regulation and a lack of suitable marinas and berths may limit the industry's expansion.
Yacht builders also face emerging competition from local upstarts keen to get a slice of this lucrative market.
Nestled among the Italian and UK-made yachts at the Hong Kong boat show were several Chinese-made vessels.
Karaoke dens
Yacht builders are keen to cater to the different tastes of their Chinese clients.
Yacht builders are keen to cater to the different tastes of their Chinese clients.
Mr Yim, of Princess Yachts which is now  owned by LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton, says that the Chinese like  to use their yachts for relatively short periods at the weekend with the  family or to entertain clients.
He adds that open deck areas are smaller as Chinese are not usually devotees of sun-bathing and water sports.
Instead they prefer more inside space to host their guests.
One recent client asked for the master bedroom to be turned into a karaoke parlour, notes Mr Yim.
Not quite Monte Carlo
Despite an 18,000km coastline, extended trips around the Chinese coast are difficult because there are strict rules on where private boats can sail.
Despite an 18,000km coastline, extended trips around the Chinese coast are difficult because there are strict rules on where private boats can sail.
Boat owners require special permits to  travel on their yachts from province-to-province and large yachts are  treated as commercial ships.
There is also a lack of marinas and the ones that do exist are hardly Monte Carlo standard.
"Once China opens up its coastline, it  will become like a new French Riviera," says Albert Wu, general manager  of the Gold Coast yacht club.
Demand for yachts is also growing  despite a 43% tax on boats imported into China - although many buy and  keep their vessels in Hong Kong to avoid paying the duty.
Made in China
From a distance, the 86-feet Accelera  looks like the other Italian, US and British made yachts on display at  the boat show, with its sleek hull and sharp lines.
But made at a shipyard in Zhuhai, a  mainland Chinese city about two hours from Hong Kong, it costs HK$6.8m  (£0.5m; $0.9m) - less than a third of the price of its international  rivals.
Samuel Wong, executive director of the  company that built the boat, says he chose Accelera as the company's  brand name because "it sounded Italian".
His father's shipyard used to build  fishing and houseboats but Mr Wong believes his new approach will pay  off as the existing international super-yacht brands are not yet well  established in China.
"The engine and electronics are the same as the international brands - it's our labour costs that are cheap," he says.
Inside the yacht, which boasts a karaoke  lounge complete with a disco glitter ball, it smells synthetic and  compares poorly to the glossy interiors of its European rivals.
But Mr Wong and the half a dozen other  Chinese yacht builders that have sprung up are a tangible example of  China's move away from mass production into higher value goods.
Bumper purchase
The buyer of Mr Hui's five Sunseeker  yachts, Frankie Chan, is matter-of-fact about their bumper purchase when  I contact him by phone.
Mr Chan is the vice president of Oursjia, a members-only luxury rental company based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The company looked into to buying the yachts just three months ago in response to demands from some of their 500,000 clients.
They pay a membership fee of 20,000 yuan  (£1,900; $3000), which gives them access to rent a car from the  company's fleet of 3,000 luxury vehicles and or items from a range of  designer furniture.
It estimates that 50,000 of its clients  are potential users of the yachts, which come with their own captain and  crew provided by Sunseeker.
And, it appears super-yachts are not the only items on their clients' wish lists.
"My boss is flying to Europe next week to inquire about buying a private jet," Mr Chan says.
Source: BBC
 
