PACIFIC – In China it’s hard to keep up with the latest multimillionaire status symbol.

First it was luxury yachts, then private jets – but now the nouveau riche are turning their attention to private islands.

Buying an island is a rite of passage for the world’s wealthiest. And now, in China, despite national moves toward modest spending among public officials, the growing number of privately wealthy billionaires want in on the rich tradition.

According to a report by the Guangzhou Daily, a group of wealthy Chinese will be island hopping in the South Pacific this month in search of small tropical isles to call their own.

A group privately wealthy entrepreneurs – including Lin Dong, the founder of a medical equipment company – from the southern province of Guangdong – will be travelling to Fiji, Tuvalu and Tahiti, where private islands sell at lower rate than other places.

Ever since he bought his first private holiday island in 2006, a tiny lake isle called Jialan in his native province, super rich Lin, 42, has purchased at least 30 islands around the world in just nine years.

Lin is now acting as a consultant and leading the group of Chinese millionaires to attempt purchase several stunning islands across the Pacific.

Lin earned his fortune first by playing in Chinese stock market in 1990s, then by running a medical equipment company.

He said he bought a small island in 1999 for farming, but in 2006 he bought his first island for pleasure.

“I have focused on buying islands with beautiful scenery and beaches since 2006. This way I can build houses on them for holiday purpose,” Lin told Guangzhou Daily.

“Most islands I have are on lakes, around 20 of them. I also have more than 10 on peninsulas.”

The wealthy businessman has already spent a fortune on his portfolio of islands, and plans to snap up even more.

Lin has even founded China’s first association of island owners, an elite community of 50 members, to buy islands around the world as a group.

“Chinese only just started buying private islands,” Lin said to Guangzhou Daily.

“Many people bought islands for other purposes in the past, but it was only until recent two years that more and more people are buying them for leisure.’ “

Around 70 Chinese tycoons are due to join Lin’s tour later this month to buy up islands in Fiji, Tuvalu and Tahiti.

Lin said Fiji was their top destination as it had more than 300 islands and they were relatively cheap.

Fijian islands currently on sale include the spectacular Katafanga Island, which is on the market for US$25 million.

According to the sellers, the stunning island offers 91 hectares of unspoiled beauty and breathtaking beaches, and is surrounded by a 2000-hectare natural blue lagoon.

The purchase also includes villas, a private airstrip and a golf course, and it is advertised as an ideal location for a luxury resort.

“Fiji is located in the South Pacific where the environment is very beautiful and the location is good as direct flights will begin soon,” Lin said.

Islands in China have strict restrictions on their use and are sold on a lease of 50 years.

However, overseas islands are sold freehold, which is why they are increasing in popularity among the Chinese elite.

Lin adds that owning an island – or several – is the pinnacle of success. “It’s like an aircraft carrier in some ways in that you need to be equipped with private jets and yachts before really owning an island.

“Different people have their own way of pleasure,” Lin said. “I prefer an island to be quiet with a beach so that I can fish while reading books and listening to music.”

China has over 6500 islands with land area of more than 500 square metres, according to National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, and all are owned by the government – although land use rights can be sold for 50 years.

Lin said it was easier to buy islands at sea abroad as he had faced ownership disputes with local governments in China over purchases he had made in previous years.

Earlier this year, another Chinese businessman bought a Fiji island for the comparatively cheap price of five million Yuan or around $810,000.

Actor Mel Gibson also reportedly paid $15 million for Mago Island, in Fiji, back in 2004, where it continues to be one of the largest privately owned islands in the South Pacific.

In April, Chinese property developer Wendy Weimei Wu snapped up New Zealand’s Slipper Island, 217-hectare island off the North Island of New Zealand for US$5.3 million.

She referred to it as “one of her toys”, New Zealand media reported in April.

According to reports, here are more than a million billionaires in China, who are increasingly seeking to invest in real estate overseas.