Christie's figures reveal active Asia participation

Christie's has posted a strong performance in the first half of this year, realizing total sales of £2.4 billion ($3.68 billion), a 9 percent increase on the same period last year.

The results are supported by expanding interests in art and acquiring art around the world, which continue to attract collectors to auction rooms. Christie's said its bidders during the first six months came from 128 countries and 10 percent of them were new buyers.

More than anything, the period has witnessed active participation from both established and new Asian buyers, who registered a 15 percent increase in bidding while accounting for nearly a quarter of all sales registrations.

Christie's major global sales sites continue to experience a strong demand for art from Chinese collectors, whose numbers in bidding increased by 32 percent in Hong Kong and 21 percent in London.

Christie's online services have also been well received among Chinese collectors. In the first six months of this year, it hosted 11 online exclusive sales and is now offering the first of two online only auctions of Chinese art throughout July.

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