Ferretti sails into choppy financial waters

Weichai Group is pulling out all the stops to turn around the fortunes of the luxury Italian yacht builder and entice China's rich buyers

When Chinese industrial conglomerate Weichai Group snapped up cash-strapped Italian luxury yacht builder Ferretti in 2012, the deal looked like a match made in seafaring heaven.

Debt-laden Ferretti, known for the elegant Riva speedboats favored by 1960s film star Sophia Loren, was the world's largest manufacturer of motor yachts, and cash-rich Weichai saw an opportunity to offer luxury leisure to the growing ranks of Chinese billionaires.