Italian luxury yacht-maker, listed in both Milan and Hong Kong. Weichai, a Chinese state-owned diesel-engine maker, bought out the sinking Ferretti in 2012; it now holds nearly 40% of the shares. KKCG, a Czech investment group founded by billionaire Karel Komarek, has built up the second-largest stake at around 23%. Ferretti wants to expand into the lucrative maritime-security sector, which raises concerns about Chinese state access to Western military technology. Italy's "golden power" law allows the state to intervene in deals involving strategic assets when a foreign firm's shareholding exceeds 40.4%, blocking Weichai from raising its stake. Ferretti's Weichai-appointed boss, Alberto Galassi, has surprisingly sided with KKCG.
Ferretti orders fell by a third in the first quarter of 2026 versus a year earlier, hit by the war in Iran and uncertain delivery to Middle Eastern clients. Italy dominates global superyacht-building (defined as private boats over 24 metres); over half of the 1,000+ big boats built in 2025 were Italian. The country's yacht industry employs 168,000 people and added €13bn ($15bn) to GDP in 2025, about 0.6% of GDP, with employment up 6% that year per Confindustria Nautica. Total superyachts on order rose from 821 in 2021 to 1,093 by 2026 before slowing.
I'd rather be led to hell than managed to heaven.