Leading auction houses worldwide, such as Bonhams, Christie's, Phillips, and Sotheby's, are relying on the wealth of the ultra-rich to weather the weakening economic growth in China and boost their sales in Asia. This strategy is evident in the opening of new headquarters and expanded exhibition spaces in Hong Kong, as well as a more extensive auction calendar.

Christie’s, one of the oldest auction houses in the world, will relocate its regional headquarters in September to the new Henderson skyscraper in Hong Kong, where it will hold a variety of auctions in a 50,000 square meter space. Sotheby’s opened a new retail store in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district in July and has invested in new office spaces. Bonhams will also open a new headquarters in Hong Kong in September, while Phillips already moved to a new location last year.

These expansions are taking place despite a global decline in the art market and weaker spending on luxury goods in China. According to the research firm ArtTactic, the sales values at the evening auctions in Hong Kong, which are considered the most significant, have dropped by 40 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the previous year, reaching their lowest level since 2017.

Although China's economy only grew by 4.7 percent in the second quarter of this year and consumer spending remains weak, Francis Belin, President of Christie's Asia, sees the auction house's luxury segment largely unaffected by these developments. According to Belin, customers in the region, 80 percent of whom come from mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong, are focused on the very high-end segment, which is less susceptible to economic downturns. "To buy the items we sell, you don't just need money, you need a lot of money. It's a very small pool," says Belin.

Nevertheless, the share of Asian buyers in Christie's total auction sales fell from 39 percent in 2021 to 21 percent in the first six months of this year. Despite this decline, Belin still sees untapped potential to bring more sales to Hong Kong, as Asian collectors have often been more active at auctions abroad so far.

Here is the heading translated to English:

"Sotheby's, also suffering from a global decline in auction sales, turns to the Asian market.

The expansions of auction houses in Hong Kong are taking place at a time when the market is becoming increasingly "nervous" due to geopolitical uncertainties and growing competition, as Meg Maggio, art consultant and global managing director of Pearl Lam Galleries, emphasizes. "The challenge is whether there will be too many auctions and too many activities by auction houses in Hong Kong. Are they saturating the market?" she asks critically.