When Zhongwang Holdings made the prestigious acquisition of an Australian superyacht builder in 2017, it represented the high-water mark of the Chinese aluminium processor’s ambitions. Five years on, the tide has turned dramatically in its fortunes, with Zhongwang declared bankrupt last month and leaving more than $60bn in debt.
Its founder and former chair, Liu Zhongtian, said at the time that the deal to buy SilverYachts would help the company take on the marine sector “at full speed”, introducing its extruded aluminium to high-end boat building. Instead, it has become part of the company’s cautionary tale of debt-fuelled binge buying that contributed to its downfall.
Once Asia’s biggest manufacturer of aluminium extrusions, Zhongwang thrived in the 2000s as China’s booming property sector created strong demand for its products in construction. Then, as the economy cooled, its business started to collapse, a victim of its own overexpansion and leveraged asset buying.