The have-yachts versus the have-nots

HONG KONG - Caprice Lam took 90 minutes to close his first luxury-yacht sale, from the time the customer stepped aboard the 19-meter vessel on China's Hainan Island to the moment the bank wired the 35 percent deposit.

"I don't even have his name card," said Lam, hours after the deal, worth 13 million yuan ($2 million), on April 2 at a boat show in the tropical resort of Sanya. "He just gave me his cell phone number, called his bank and paid the deposit."

The sale shows how China's industrial base is breaking into the most expensive luxury markets. While wealthy Chinese typically entered markets for jewelry, clothes, cars and planes through the United States and European brands, Lam works for Xiamen Hangsheng Yacht Building Co Ltd in Fujian province.