Australia promotes infrastructure development at China Boat Show

by Suzy Rayment on 14 Apr 2005 This year Australia was well represented amongst the 240 exhibitors at the China Boat Show 2005 in Shanghai. While the European presence at the show represented the luxury yacht and powerboat market, the Australian contingent was more about the nitty-gritty of the boating industry.

Australian companies represented at the show were; Aimex, Amphibious Vehicles, ASEA Yacht Design, Precision Cruisers, Austral, Australian Industry Capability on Manufacturing Boats, LeisureCat Australia Pty ltd, Queensland Marine Industry, Seawind Catamarans, Sea Ship Marinas (Aust) Pty Ltd, Solar Sailor Holdings Ltd/ Advanced Technology Watercraft Pty Ltd, Solarboat Pty Ltd, and Sunrunner-Sports Cruisers

Brendan Egan, an export advisor with Austrade, believes that China faces a big challenge in getting the basic infrastructure in place. 'Australia has a lot of experience in this area and that is why we are here. The state of Queensland produces 60% the boats and boating products that are exported from Australia, but we are not here just to sell boats. We also have expertise in planning, setting up and managing marinas. In many ways this is what we see this as the real opportunity: to develop a partnership with the Chinese Government and help them they set up the infrastructure of this new and exciting industry'.

Australia’s experience in running the Olympics will also be of use to China, says Kevin Hornsley, Marketing Manager for LeisureCat Australia Pty Ltd. ' There are many opportunities for Australian companies to share their expertise and that is why we are here. Our boats were used as part of the safety fleet during the Sydney Olympics and China needs to do a lot of work to get everything in place for their event in 2008. As China has no ready-made facilities they need people with the relevant experience and expertise to help set things up.'

Barry Jenkins, Events Manager for the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show, also anticipates big changes in the Chinese boating industry in the next few years. ' I have been coming to this show for the last six years and in the early stages it had more to do with locally produced hardware for ferries and industrial shipping than the yachting market in general. This year I have been blown away by the general interest in the top end of the boating market.'

Barry believes that Australian organisations like Sanctuary Cove can offer valuable advice on how to combine luxury property developments with yachting.

Increasingly, Australia is positioning itself as part of the Asian economic market, and involvement in the boating industry in China can only serve to further those links.