Qingdao, July 19 – JD.com founder Liu Qiangdong (Richard Liu) has quietly planted his independent yacht brand Sea Expandary into China's northern coastal heart, with a Qingdao branch registered on July 14 – the brand's first-ever regional office nationwide, according to corporate filings.

The branch, led by Fu Chuanyu offers a full-chain services portfolio: recreational and sports vessel sales, yacht and ship chartering, non-vessel-operating common carrier, port support, marine leisure, and equipment leasing. It will serve as Sea Expandary's asset-light operations hub for the Bohai Rim, directly targeting North China's mass-consumer boating market through Qingdao's mature marinas and tourist flows.

Parent company Shenzhen Sea Expandary Marine Industry Development Co., Ltd., incorporated in Shenzhen on February 9 with $10.88 million registered capital, is wholly owned by Hong Kong-registered Future Expandray Limited – with Liu as ultimate controller. Liu and his wife Zhang Zetian both sit as directors.

Launched in February 2026 with Liu's personal RMB 5 billion ($700 million) investment, Sea Expandary rejects the traditional luxury yacht playbook. Instead, it promises a RMB 100,000-class ($14,000) new-energy intelligent yacht, leveraging proprietary electric propulsion to compete head-on with European legacy brands. Strategic partnerships with Shenzhen and Zhuhai anchor its manufacturing HQ in Qianhai and a production base in Zhuhai.

The Qingdao branch completes a three-city industrial triangle: Zhuhai for manufacturing, Dalian (where a RMB 1 billion subsidiary was set up in May) for production, and now Qingdao for service operations. Liu, who comes from a seafaring family and once dreamed of becoming a ship captain, has publicly shared his personal bond with boats – "I sleep best on the water," he said.

Analysts see Qingdao's free-trade zone policies, year-round coastal tourism, and existing marina infrastructure as ideal for rolling out affordable yacht rentals, potentially reshaping North China's marine leisure economy. Sea Expandary plans to add more coastal branches nationwide, building a full-coverage service network for its homegrown electric yacht brand.