MING BLING: China's luxury market is male driven, with mistresses and concubines a fact of life

While for men, mistresses and concubines are the key element of luxury spending, according to a new report from economists at HSBC that predicts a golden future for the world's priciest brands in China.

British-made Vertu phones have become the badge of the seriously well-off in Guangzhou, where import duty can push their price above £70000. The southern metropolis is also home to a Louis Vuitton shop that has a waiting list of VIPs eager to pay more than £100000 for a Birkin handbag - twice the price on eBay.

The Yangcheng Evening News reports that a Piaget exhibition sold out of timepieces costing around £80000 and also sold one model for more than £900000. And the hottest cultural show in Beijing last season was Cartier's display of 350 precious objects titled King of Jewellers, Jeweller to Kings - in the Forbidden City, no less.

But nothing is forbidden when it comes to a tiny minority of super-rich flaunting their wealth. In a country that endured decades of grey austerity, luxury goods have become not merely the accessories of success but its defining feature. State television reported recently that affluent Chinese tourists were the number one spenders in Paris, ahead of Russians and Americans.

There are daunting questions over the direction of the economy, including trade wars, bank credit, asset bubbles and inequality. But the fruits of China's long boom are being enjoyed as never before by the privileged class that emerged from the "reform" decade of the '90s. It is an affirmation of prosperity that has led analysts at HSBC to conclude that China may account for more than a third of the global growth in luxury goods this year.

Those Louis Vuitton handbags could be taken as a proxy for the sector, they say, citing an analysis of the company's sales by nationality which shows Chinese customers could represent a "staggering" 30% of its worldwide sales in just five years' time.

Apart from the handful of politically connected tycoons whose propensity to spend has emptied the showrooms of Rolls-Royces, there are an estimated 825000 people in China worth more than £1-million. Their average age is 43, according to the Hurun Report, a list of the wealthy.

A recent survey of Chinese youth found that a typical city teenager's bag contains between three and seven designer pieces, such as a Gucci wallet or a Louis Vuitton key-chain holder. Yet "brand penetration" remains limited while a host of unique cultural and social factors make the Chinese avid consumers of luxury.

The survey defines China as "a local luxury goods market that is probably the only male-driven one on the planet". It adds: "Also a reality is the fact that having mistresses or concubines is institutionalised, thus feeding luxury consumption."

But among the hundreds of millions left behind by the boom, class hatred is reawakening the slogans of Maoism. "Even foreigners are open-mouthed at the luxurious consumption of our rich men," complained a blogger called Ma Zhe, "but the masses despise them." - ©The Sunday Times, London