. Earth Science News .




.
TRADE WARS
Canvas the new 'safe-haven' for Hong Kong investors
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) April 15, 2012


Unnerved by a febrile stock exchange and persistent rumblings of a potential dip in property prices, Hong Kong investors are seeking refuge in art and the lure of both financial and cultural rewards.

Hong Kong, already the world's third largest auction hub, has seen a slew of big name galleries open their doors, including White Cube and the Gagosian, to tap the pockets of the region's new rich, and the studios of its ever-deepening talent pool of artists.

In turn new investors, wealthy but not super-rich, are taking a punt on art -- many for the first time.

For seed money of $180,000 HKD ($23,300), Levenza Toh bought a painting by a Chinese contemporary artist Liu Chunhai, which she hopes will rise in value by 20 percent each year -- a strong return compared with last year's stock market slump of 25 percent.

The city's bourse has rebounded so far in 2012 after the eurozone-driven losses of 2011, but Toh -- who confesses to being green to the art scene before buying -- says her investment also brings an aesthetic bounty.

"If the painting loses value I still have something beautiful to pass on to my children," she explains.

"Of course I saw the numbers... but I also saw the art work, the story behind it, and it connected with me so I am happy to own it."

Art brokerage The Art Futures group says its client base has grown in step with Hong Kong's burgeoning reputation as the heart of Asia's art market.

Art investment has become a relative "safe haven" in stormy markets, says AFG's Jonathan Macey, adding that the fundamentals of artists' work can be analysed in much the same way as a stock, with "mid-career" artists favoured over total newcomers or the top-priced favourites.

"It is also enjoyable for people in a way that buying property for purely investment purposes isn't," said Macey.

"We explain who the artists are and most people very quickly start to enjoy gaining that knowledge. The process is recreational and they carry on deepening their knowledge and enjoyment of art."

While Macey stresses art is not a "get-rich-quick" scheme he says clients can expect 12-18 percent gains over a three to five year period.

In the interim they can lease their paintings to hang in company and hotels lobbies providing a dividend of around seven percent that outstrips most bank interest rates.

Eye-popping sales at Hong Kong's big auction houses underpin the city's surge to the heart of Asia's art scene.

Buyers are particularly enamoured by Chinese contemporary art, reflecting China's rising economic and cultural power, with artists such as Liu Wei, Luo Zhongli and Zhang Xiaogang attracting multi-million US dollar price tags.

In 2011 Christie's Asian arm in Hong Kong saw total sales of Chinese modern art nudging HK$650 million, out of total sales of HK$7.04 billion.

Not to be outdone rival auctioneers Sotheby's this month hosted an Asian contemporary art sale that achieved HK$211 million -- the house's second-highest total for such a sale in Hong Kong.

The money is also cascading into Hong Kong's galleries as the profile of art buyers shifts from the high-end collectors who dominated a decade or so ago -- many of them European.

"We've seen collectors from Asia, south-east Asia, Indonesia, and Taiwan come into the market," says Nicole Schoeni of the Schoeni Art Gallery, who says her client base has widened over recent years from purely big European collectors.

"They are passionate about art. Investment is an added bonus of course, but they don't tend to 'flip' paintings every two or three months for profit."

As with any investment, art buying carries a risks as markets fluctuate, but Schoeni says the future looks good for Asian art.

"Asia's getting richer and there's also great creativity coming from the region. On top of that people here tend to be hard-working, positive and resilient... the long-term is positive."

Related Links
Global Trade News




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




British police recover stolen Chinese treasures
London (AFP) April 14, 2012 - British police said Saturday they had recovered Chinese treasures stolen in a carefully-plotted raid on a museum.

Two Qing Dynasty artefacts worth more than �2 million ($3.2 million, 2.4 million euros) in total were stolen from the Oriental Museum of Durham University in northeast England on the night of April 5.

The raiders carefully chiselled through a wall, taking more than 30 minutes, then were in and out of the museum in as little as 60 seconds.

Using torches, they made straight for two separate cabinets containing an 18th-century jade bowl and a Dehua porcelain figurine.

The bowl dates from 1769 and has a Chinese poem written inside, while the figurine is of seven fairies in a boat and stands about 12 inches (30 centimetres) high.

Despite arresting five people from the Birmingham area in the English West Midlands, police could not initially find the artefacts and alerted the ports.

But a police spokeswoman said Saturday: "Both artefacts have been recovered."

A 40-strong team of detectives are looking for two men wanted in connection with the raid -- one of whom was among the five people arrested and bailed.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



TRADE WARS
India to accept Pakistan FDI as ties warm
New Delhi (AFP) April 13, 2012
India said Friday it would open up to direct foreign investment from Pakistan in a deepening of commercial ties that could help propel a peace process between the nuclear-armed rivals. The announcement by Trade Minister Anand Sharma, flanked by his Pakistani counterpart at a New Delhi news conference, came a few hours ahead of the opening of a second trading gate along the nations' heavily m ... read more


TRADE WARS
New underwater images show damage at Fukushima

Quake-hit Christchurch to build cardboard cathedral

Indonesia warns runaway prisoners after quake chaos

Indonesia's disaster-ready schools pass quake test

TRADE WARS
SciTechTalk: Rude awakening for Mac owners

Controlling the cut - Nottingham engineers top the leader board

Moody's downgrades Nokia's rating, keeps negative outlook

Twitter alive with talk of dead rapper hologram

TRADE WARS
South Africa issues shark warning around washed-up whale

Study shows adaptive capacity of reef corals to climate change may be widespread

Hatchery, OSU scientists link ocean acidification to larval oyster failure

New insights into when beach sand may become unsafe for digging and other contact

TRADE WARS
No ice loss seen in major Himalayan glaciers: scientists

China seeking to expand role in Arctic

Penguins aplenty in Antarctica, satellite map shows

Long-term studies detect effects of disappearing snow and ice

TRADE WARS
Poor Spring Rain Projected in Africa

Which plants will survive droughts, climate change?

Fuelling the agricultural energy debate

Climate said threat to Asia's 'Rice Bowl'

TRADE WARS
Indonesia revises quake toll to 10 dead

Thieves compromise Indonesian tsunami alert system

Asian tsunami warnings test post-2004 systems

Two strong quakes strike off Mexico: USGS

TRADE WARS
G.Bissau army says coup bid over secret deal with Angola

ECOWAS council asks regional leaders to okay Mali force

Coup attempt in G.Bissau, attack on PM residence

DR Congo must arrest war crimes suspect: rights group

TRADE WARS
Chinese-Brazilian superkid insists he's no 'genius'

Data mining opens the door to predictive neuroscience

The Neurogenics of Niceness

Scientists find evidence that human ancestors used fire one million years ago


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement