Money
Mainland buyers push Christie's HK auction to $294m
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-03 15:41
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Paintings, imperial Chinese treasures and gems were auctioned for HK$2.29 billion ($294 million) in Hong Kong, the second-highest tally for a sale in the city, with mainland buyers paying top dollar for the rarest items.
Of the 2,548 lots offered during the six-day Christie's International auction, 85 percent sold. The most-expensive item was a 500 year-old bronze statue of the Amitayus Buddha that was sold for HK$70 million to London dealer Richard Littleton, who outbid about five other Chinese contenders for the antique.
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China's languishing stock markets and falling property prices resulting from government cooling measures have eroded the wealth of the nation's rich, making them more circumspect about spending on big-ticket items such as antiques, said Andy Xie, Morgan Stanley's former chief Asia economist who now works as an independent economist.