Saturday, December 03, 2005

Taiwan surges ahead in Yacht building

The BBC notes that Taiwan is building an industrial zone aimed at Yacht construction.
The purpose built zone is aimed at helping the island's builders of mega yachts larger than 80 feet have more room to expand; increasing their productivity and their global market share.

Taiwan is already one of the top places in the world for building luxury yachts, ranking number five.

Exports last year were worth nearly $200m (?116m).

Twenty years ago, it used to be one of the top places in the world for the mass manufacturing and exporting of small, cheap leisure boats.

But rising costs and strong competition from neighbouring China meant that two-thirds of the island's boat yards went out of business.

Here's a good example of positive government policy that builds on private success in responding to the challenge of China.

2 comments:

Sun Bin said...

this is good.

since italy, with its high labor cost, is still the leader. this is probably not an industry entirely determined by labor cost.

i am glad taiwan finds another niche, and consumers of the world can enjoy more affordable boats.

Anonymous said...

Yes, affordability is good. But, research before you buy, you get what you pay for, trust me.