Liu Qiangdong, founder and chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant JD, has launched an independent yacht brand, pledging 5 billion yuan ($690 million) to build a domestic manufacturing champion that seeks to challenge the dominance of European and US players in the high-end leisure vessel market.

The online retail billionaire said his new brand, Sea Expandary, would develop a full industry chain spanning research and development, manufacturing, sales, operations, leasing, brokerage and after-sales services.

"Yachts are the last high-end manufacturing segment among China's major industrial categories that has yet to be broken through. More than 90 percent of the global yacht market is controlled by European and US companies," Liu said, calling it a gap that China needed to close.

Liu said his brand is positioned to compete with top global names, while aiming to cultivate a domestic supply chain. Currently, more than 90 percent of key components for high-end yachts built in China are imported from Europe and the United States, he said, which has undermined the sector's core competitiveness.

The company will focus on new-energy, smart yachts, aiming to carve out a niche in environmentally friendly and intelligent vessels. Liu said he ultimately hopes to produce yachts priced at around 100,000 yuan, making them as accessible as cars for ordinary households.

The investment, to be made in the southern province of Guangdong, will be funded personally by Liu rather than by JD. He said he would not be involved in day-to-day management, describing himself at most as a "product manager," with most of his time still devoted to JD.

Domestic yacht makers are typically small and fragmented, with few companies investing more than 10 million yuan, Liu said.

"But yacht manufacturing is capital — and technology-intensive. Without investing 5 billion yuan, we cannot compete with the world's top shipbuilders."

Sea Expandary has signed strategic cooperation agreements with local governments in Shenzhen and Zhuhai, according to company statements. The brand plans to build a yacht manufacturing base in Zhuhai and set up its China headquarters in Shenzhen, while participating in the construction and operation of several marinas and related facilities in the southern tech hub.

The company also plans to establish research and innovation centers, yacht operation service centers and bonded maintenance facilities across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

According to information on its newly launched website, Sea Expandary positions itself as a global green and intelligent yacht ecosystem provider, targeting international markets with integrated services including design, manufacturing, global sales, yacht club services and marine research support.

The move comes as China's domestic yacht market expands rapidly.

Data from the Ministry of Transport show that newly registered yachts in the past three years accounted for about 54.7 percent of the country's total fleet, with growth expected to continue by 2030.

Yet manufacturing capacity has lagged demand. While China has become the world's largest shipbuilder in segments such as tankers, bulk carriers and container ships, its yacht industry remains underdeveloped.

Shen Jianguang, chief economist at JD, said that the development of a "yacht economy" could help upgrade services consumption, integrate manufacturing and services, create jobs and enhance the attractiveness of local economies.

"China's consumption structure is changing rapidly. Compared with goods consumption, services consumption has become increasingly important in expanding and upgrading demand," Shen said, adding that yacht development could also stimulate high-end tourism, professional services and training industries.

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn