January 28, 2008
Taiwan's yacht building industry received a boost in 2007 and climbed to fifth place worldwide, according to US yachting magazine ShowBoats International.
Taiwan builders received orders for 71 'superyachts', which measure 80 feet or above. The total number of feet on order with Taiwanese builders in 2007 was 6,867 feet, representing record growth of 60%, according to ShowBoats International.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) says that it projects a total of
NTD 3 billion has been invested in new factories or expansion over the past three years, thanks to a continuous stream of international orders. Production capacity is expected to continue to grow, which will bring increased overall industry output in 2008 and 2009, said the bureau.
The market has flourished over the past three years, says the IDB. According to the bureau, from 2006 to 2008, yacht orders increased in terms of total length of boats from 81,814 to 113,520 feet. These figures showed growth of 7.9%, 15.3%, and 20.2%, respectively. The total number of boats increased from 688 to 916, showing growth of 6%, 12.9%, and 17.9% over the past three years.
According to the IDB, Taiwan companies to date have received orders totaling 6,687 feet in length, comprising 6% of the global market. With respect to global rankings, Taiwan placed behind Italy, the US, the Netherlands, and Germany, who account 43.6%, 11.7%, 9.2%, and 8% of the global market, respectively. And, with support from its government, China has already achieved a 1.9% global share in the yacht building industry, ranking 9th in the world.
Taiwan's superyacht building industry has already been quite successful, said the IDB. Only one Taiwanese company ranked among the world's top twenty builders in 2007, but this number increased to three companies in ShowBoat's 2008 rankings: Horizon (12th), OceanAlexander (16th) and KhaShing (17th).
(Central News Agency)
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