US securities dealer Goldman Sachs said in its latest report that China will consume about 29 percent of the world's total luxury goods in 2015, surpassing Japan as the world's top luxury brands consumer.

The Goldman Sachs report, released in Beijing last week, predicted that the demand of luxury goods in China will grow by 25 percent annually in the coming four years, with its global share surging from 12 percent in 2004 to 29 percent in 2015, exceeding Japan's expected 28 percent at that time.

Young people in their 20s and 30s are reported to be the majority of big-spending consumers in China. Statistics show that the number of young consumers in China is 11 times larger than that in Japan.

China now ranks as the third largest consumer of luxury goods in the world, with sales of luxury goods exceeding US$6 billion in 2004, about 12 percent of the world's total.

Of that 12 percent global share, about 10 percent comes from the overseas market. The Goldman Sachs report said Chinese tourists have been the main buyers of some prestigious brands from Europe and other overseas countries.

China sent about 25.8 million tourists to overseas countries in the first ten months this year, up 8 percent year-on-year, said the National Tourism Administration.

British consultant agency EIU predicts that by 2008, the number of Chinese overseas tourists will rise to 49 million. The World Trade Organization also forecasts that about 100 million Chinese people will tour abroad in 2020.

As Chinese tourists bring home Louise Vuitton bags, Cartier wrist watches and Dior perfume from Hong Kong and Europe, more foreign top brands owners are casting their eyes on China's domestic market.

In October this year, Top Marques, a popular show that displays top world luxury brands made its maiden appearance in Shanghai, the country's fashion center, raking in US$200 million from Chinese consumers in three days.

"China is a potential market", said Steven Saleen, CEO of one of the world's top car makers, noting that China will be Saleen's next target market and long-term partner.

Yang Qingshan, secretary-general of the China Brand Association, said China's top-brand consumers now account for 13 percent of the total population, about 169 million people, a number expected to expand rapidly in the coming years.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2005)