Agence France Presse says Hong Kong buyers are falling for Chinese Contemporary art which still relies on Western buyers to make up a significant portion of the top end of the market. AFP also says that HK buyers are very investment-minded. Here’s their example:

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

The city’s bourse has rebounded so far in 2012 after the euro zone-driven losses of 2011, but Toh — who confesses to being green to the art scene before buying — says her investment also brings an esthetic 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 artwork, the story behind it, and it connected with me so I am happy to own it.”

Canvas the new ‘safe-haven’ for Hong Kong investors (AFP)