Hot on the heels of New York’s Asia Week, Hong Kong is launching its spring series of sales. Sotheby’s kicked off with its four-day, 15-sale, 1,600-lot jamboree on Tuesday, and Christie’s will wrap up the season with its marathon event towards the end of May.

In between, Hong Kong will play host to its first top-flight international modern and contemporary art fair, ART HK 08. This initiative offers a shop window to some of the world’s leading galleries and an international platform for the contemporary art of the wider region. Little wonder, perhaps, that Magnus Renfrew, the fair’s director, sounds pretty pleased with things. “The timing of this fair is just right; everything about it makes sense.” The art business in Hong Kong is booming.