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The world’s top auction houses are looking to the ultra-rich to defy an economic slowdown in China and boost their Asian sales, as they open new headquarters and exhibition spaces in Hong Kong and unveil an amped-up sales schedule.
全球頂級拍賣行正寄望於超級富豪來抵禦中國經濟放緩的影響並推動亞洲銷售。目前它們在香港開設新總部和展覽空間，並公佈了更加積極的銷售計劃。
The 250-year-old auction house Christie’s will move its regional headquarters to a 50,000 sq ft site in Hong Kong’s new Henderson skyscraper in September. It hopes to increase the volume of items sold in Asia by hosting a year-round schedule of auctions there.
擁有250年曆史的拍賣行佳士得(Christie』s)將於9月份將其地區總部遷至香港新的恆基兆業(Henderson)摩天大樓，辦公空間共佔地5萬平方英尺。它希望在那裏舉辦全年無休的拍賣活動，增加在亞洲銷售的拍品數量。
Rival Sotheby’s unveiled a new retail site in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district in July, and has moved to new offices in the city. Bonhams, another of the world’s top auction houses, will open its new Hong Kong headquarters in September, while Phillips occupied a new site last year.
競爭對手蘇富比(Sotheby』s)於7月份在香港商業區中心地帶揭幕了一個新的零售門店，並且已經搬入了新的香港辦公室。另一個世界頂級拍賣行寶龍(Bonhams)將於9月份啓用其在香港的新總部，而富藝斯(Phillips)則在去年拿下了一個新的場地。
The moves come despite a slowdown in the global art market, drastically weaker luxury spending in China and dented growth prospects in the country.
儘管全球藝術市場放緩，中國奢侈品消費大幅下滑，國內成長前景受到打擊，但這些拍賣行仍舊採取了上述舉措。
Sales of art at Hong Kong evening sales, which refer to the most prominent auctions, fell 40 per cent by value in the first six months of this year compared with a year earlier, hitting their lowest level since 2017, according to research group ArtTactic.
根據研究機構ArtTactic的數據，今年上半年，香港晚間藝術品銷售額（這指的是最重要的拍賣活動）同比下降了40%，達到自2017年以來的最低水準。
China’s economy eked out growth of 4.7 per cent in the second quarter of this year, below estimates, and has been struggling with persistently weak consumption, with some analysts cautioning this would affect the art and luxury industries.
中國經濟今年第二季度勉強成長了4.7%，低於預期，並且一直面臨消費持續疲軟的問題，一些分析師警告稱這將影響藝術和奢侈品行業。
Francis Belin, Christie’s president for Asia, disagrees. “[Overall] Luxury numbers are not great in China . . . but our aggregate numbers, I don’t think, reflect the macro,” he said, adding that clients in the region — 80 per cent of whom come from mainland China, Taiwan or Hong Kong — were concentrated at the ultra-high end, largely insulating them from any economic slowdown.
佳士得亞洲總裁龐智鋒(Francis Belin)持不同意見。他說：「（總體而言）中國的奢侈品銷售數字不是很好……但我認爲我們的總體數字並不反映宏觀經濟情況。」他補充說，該地區的客戶——80%來自中國大陸、臺灣或香港——主要集中在高階市場，這在很大程度上使他們免受任何經濟放緩的影響。
“To buy the objects that we sell, you don’t need just to have money, you need to have a lot of money . . . it’s a very small pool.”
「要購買我們出售的拍品，你不僅需要有錢，還需要很有錢……這是一個非常小的範圍。」
Asians accounted for 41 per cent of buyers in the company’s luxury sales in the first half.
今年上半年，亞洲人在該公司的奢侈拍品銷售額中佔了41%。
The rarer objects sold by the auction house were more likely to exhibit a “de-correlation” to negative macroeconomic events, he maintained.
他堅持認爲，拍賣行出售的拍品越稀有，就越有可能表現出與負面宏觀經濟事件的「去相關」。
“What happens in China, consumption is weak . . . [But] is a rare object a way for you to keep your money as opposed to real estate or bonds or stocks? . . . I think so.”
「在中國，消費疲軟……（但）稀有物品是一種相對於房地產、債券或股票來保值的方式嗎？我認爲是的。」
Nonetheless, Asian buyers’ contribution to Christie’s total auction sales fell from 39 per cent in mid-2021, when the company announced its plan to move to the new site, to 21 per cent in the first six months of this year.
然而，亞洲買家對佳士得總拍賣銷售額的貢獻從2021年中期的39%下降到今年上半年的21%。該公司在2021年中期宣佈計劃遷址。
The company’s recent sales for 21st century art in Hong Kong fell short of their low estimate, while sales of 20th century art were just in line.
該公司最近在香港的21世紀藝術品銷售額低於他們的低估測值，而20世紀藝術品銷售額則與預期相符。
But Belin said only about half of Asian clients’ spending at Christie’s typically occurred in Hong Kong, meaning that there was still untapped demand to bring more sales to the city.
但龐智鋒表示，亞洲客戶在佳士得的消費通常只有約一半發生在香港，這意味著仍然存在未開發的需求，可以在這個城市創造更多的銷售。
“We have consistently seen Asian collectors be more active overseas . . . than they could be actually in Hong Kong,” he said.
他說：「我們一直看到，亞洲收藏家在海外更加活躍……比他們實際在香港更活躍。」
Rival auction group Sotheby’s, which has also struggled with slowing global auction sales and job cuts in recent months, began a foray into Asian retail last month. The two-storey “maison” it opened in a mall in Hong Kong’s Central district will sell rare books, paintings and sculptures ranging from HK$5,000 (US$640) to HK$50mn.
同樣在最近幾個月面臨全球拍賣銷售放緩和裁員問題的競爭對手蘇富比，則從上月開始進軍亞洲零售市場。它在香港中環一家購物中心開設的兩層「藝廊」(maison)將銷售價格從5000港元（合640美元）到5000萬港元不等的稀有書籍、繪畫和雕塑。
“On the prospects of China ultra-high net worth, we see still at the very top end of the market . . . some very, very high ticket prices from Chinese collectors,” Nathan Drahi, managing director for Sotheby’s Asia, said at the opening, adding that more than a third of buyers at the company’s recent New York auctions came from Asia. “We believe in the long-term prospects . . . of that market.”
蘇富比亞洲區總經理洛嘉熙(Nathan Drahi)在開幕式上表示：「關於中國超高淨值人羣的前景，我們看到市場的頂端……中國收藏家仍然開出一些非常非常高的票價。」他補充說，該公司近期的紐約拍賣會上有超過三分之一的買家來自亞洲。「我們相信這個市場的長期前景。」
But Meg Maggio, a Hong Kong-based art adviser and global managing director of Pearl Lam Galleries, said that while she saw underlying strength in the arts and luxury sectors, the expansion came at a “skittish” time for the market given rising geopolitical uncertainty and “fierce” competition.
但是常駐香港的藝術顧問、藝術門畫廊(Pearl Lam Galleries)的全球總經理馬芝安(Meg Maggio)表示，儘管她看到了藝術和奢侈品行業的潛在實力，但擴張正值市場「變幻莫測」的時期，因爲地緣政治不確定性和「激烈」的競爭正在日益加劇。
“The challenge is: are there going to be too many auctions and too many auction house activities in Hong Kong? Are they saturating the market?” she asked.
她問道：「問題是，在香港會不會有太多的拍賣和拍賣行活動？它們是否會使市場飽和？」