With Vietnam's economy on the rise, it's the country's newly rich business people that are said to be playing a key role in helping the marine leisure sector to expand in a major way.

One example cited by VietnamNet-Bridge news service is Nguyen Minh Tuan, a finger nail care magnate who has placed an order with a US yacht-builder for three boats — one of 12.5m (41ft), one 12m (39ft) and one of 10m (33ft). "I've bought all three for personal use, so I will pay import tax, value added tax and special consumption tax," Tuan said.

Under current regulations, individuals who buy private yachts or airplanes must pay luxury tax of 30 per cent, import tax of 10 per cent and value added tax of 10 per cent. Most of the luxury yachts so far bought by wealthy people are under 20m (66ft) and are considered to be laying the foundation for larger yacht purchases in the future.

In another move, the 2010 International Yacht Festival to be held December 8-12 at Mui Ne-Binh Thuan has been announced as a new yachting event in the country. Mai Quoc Viet, general director of the Dan Han Company, says: "The event is expected to attract 20 yachts from Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany and Italy.

Culture, Sports & Tourism Minister Hoang Anh Tuan suggests the festival would be a step towards developing an international yachting industry in Vietnam as well as promoting marine tourism both domestically and to foreign visitors. In recent months a number of new marina projects have also been announced in various locations throughout the country.

Superyacht Business, 1 September 2010