Art exhibitions enhance Hong Kong’s role as a leading financial hub

Without a doubt Hong Kong is a major player in global financial markets, an accolade that is being further enhanced with the city’s rising status as the top arts hub in Asia with global recognition in its sights.

International attention is focused on Hong Kong during March as it hosts a series of art-related events culminating in the world-acclaimed Art Basel Hong Kong 2026. For Hong Kong and, indeed, the art world, this is a major event where outstanding works of art are displayed and sold.

Art Basel Hong Kong kicked off locally in 2013 and has become a prominent flagship on the city’s international calendar every year thereafter. And it brings in thousands of visitors. Last year, for example, it featured 240 galleries from 42 countries and regions, attracting 85,500 visitors, half of which travelled to Hong Kong for the event. Another 240 galleries from Australia, Japan, Turkey, the Netherlands, France, Georgia, Spain and the United States are taking part in the exhibition this year.

A curtain raiser to Art Basel is the home-grown Art Central along the Central harborfront, which featured some 117 galleries with 500 artists from around the world. That makes 357 galleries featured in these two exhibitions this week.

This highlight of Hong Kong’s event calendar is a boon for our tourist industry, attracting several million visitors in a single month. Hotels are booked to capacity and bars and restaurants report an additional 15-20 per cent increase in revenue during the month. Government economists estimate that every 1.5 million tourists add HK$3 billion to Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Since its inaugural edition in 2015, Art Central has established itself as a leading platform for innovation in contemporary art, advancing the profiles of artists and galleries and reinforcing their presence within the international art landscape.

It was Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WestK) who noted that the cultural industry is closely connected with finance, as family offices are increasingly looking to invest in art in Hong Kong.

“We could also work with financial institutions to encourage more of their clients to become art collectors,” she said. “It’s not going to be overnight, you might first become a member of a museum, then a patron, then you might start to buy or even donate.”

Having already developed a reputation as an art trading centre, the city is now making its mark as an arts and cultural hub, led by the continued development of WestK.

These two art exhibitions are in a place where new talent is discovered. Collectors generally buy art from well established artists like Pablo Picasso, who has a collection of about 30 pieces of his works on display at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. These art pieces are regarded as minor works and can be purchased for several thousand US dollars.

The art market has fully recovered from the declines due to the COVID outbreak and in 2024 sales of art works through auctions and private negotiations reached about US$39 million (HK$300 million).

The art market is full of artists that have yet to gain a following or break into the blue-chip world. Up-and-coming artists often produce top-tier quality works for a fraction of the price of blue-chip pieces because they don’t yet have the name recognition. Up and coming artists who have won competitions organised by the Sovereign Art Foundation and others have made the first step to such recognition.

Knowledge of the art world and art market is helpful, so beginners are not likely to stumble upon the next Andy Warhol. This form of investing is highly speculative compared to investing in old masters or blue-chip work. The exhibition is a showcase for new artists to make their debut to the international buyers and collectors looking for new talent with potential.

Hong Kong’s West Kowloon arts hub has signed agreements with 12 international institutions from Australia, the UK, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, paving the way for future collaborations as the city seeks to strengthen its role as an East-meets-West cultural hub. This will help bring more international performances to the city, showcase Hong Kong productions to global audiences, support the exchange of talent and more. The agreements were signed during a two-day International Cultural Summit held in conjunction with the cultural festivities.
But the agreement which cements Hong Kong as the arts hub of Asia was that signed by Art Basel of Switzerland to continue holding Art Basel Hong Kong for the next five years.

The collaboration with Art Basel for the next five years is the result of sustained investment in Hong Kong’s role as a global financial centre, collaboration and a shared commitment to make Hong Kong a place where the arts can truly flourish.

Internationally acclaimed artists bring fame to Hong Kong, a melting pot where culture transcends borders. And even without such major events, Hong Kong’s array of galleries along Hollywood Road is a living museum of fine arts, a major tourist attraction in the city.

Mark Pinkstone

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

The figures are astounding: 17.5 percent of our children are obese or overweight with most students (94 per cent) not getting enough exercise, according to a report released by the Department of Health (DH) last week.

The report is a warning. If we do not look after the wellbeing of our children, they will grow up with deficiencies which will hamper their progression throughout their career.

The DH is to be applauded for the thoroughness of its report. During the 2024/25 school year, it assessed 256,000 primary school students and 172,000 secondary school students as to their life styles. The result is that they are lazy when it comes to physical activity. Some, 93.6 per cent of students (91.5 per cent of primary and 95.8 per cent of secondary school students) reported insufficient levels of daily physical activity, i.e. not having at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity daily.

This has consequences, says Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, consultant in community medicine at the DH. Being overweight during childhood and adolescence adversely affects health, she says, and is associated with a greater risk and earlier onset of various non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Childhood and adolescent obesity can also have adverse psychosocial consequences, affecting students' school performance and quality of life.

Genetics, metabolism, sleep patterns and exposure to stress of adverse childhood events can also contribute to weight gain.

But overall Hong Kong is not doing too badly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world average for obese children is 19.8 per cent of school children aged 5-19 globally in 2025. This figure represents more than 391 million children affected by obesity with significant variation by region and country. For example, 33 million in China are estimated to be obese, while 14 million in India and 13 million in the United States are living with obesity. The WHO says that the prevalence of obesity has been increasing with a notable rise in high-income countries and regions.

The Government has been doing its bit. The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po recently proposed a $1.2 billion package for the promotion of sport, which would be available through the numerous sports associations in Hong Kong. If schools are smart, they could align themselves to any of these associations for the benefit of their students.

And then the government launched the inaugural Action Plan on Weight Management earlier this month, to bring together the strengths of various government bureaux and departments to enhance collaboration between Chinese and Western medicine. The purpose is to comprehensively promote weight management across Hong Kong through various activities and approaches.

More than 75 per cent of Hong Kong schools have joined these initiatives, which includes recommendations for exercise, diet and balanced screen time.

However, the fight against obesity in our youth also rests with parents and schools.

For a healthy body, sport and diet go hand in glove. In Hong Kong, despite the many sporting activities available their dietary habits are below the optimal dietary levels with about 90 per cent consuming fewer than the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.

Another factor causing obesity is the extensive recreational use of electronic devices (smart phones, iPads, tablets and computers), which contribute to sedentary behaviour with a high proportion of Hong Kong students exceeding two hours daily, clicking their thumbs playing games on their smart phones. If a student’s legs can move as quickly as their thumbs, they will lead a healthy life and become pillars of society.

School and home environments, neighbor safety and social norms affect food access and activity levels.

At home, it is the responsibility of parents to provide a well-balanced diet for their children and refrain from fatty foods, deep fried foods and fast foods, which despite claims by the providers do not provide the necessary nutritional value required for a healthy body.

Schools are key settings for obesity prevention because children spend considerable time there, making it possible to shape lifelong dietary and physical habits.

Under the guideline provided by the Education Department, schools provide nutritious meals, promote fruit and vegetable consumption and limit unhealthy foods.

In Hong Kong schools either have their own kitchens to offer healthy lunches or they contract the service to outside catering firms. Either way they are carefully monitored to ensure they take out “strongly discouraged food items” from all menu choices and stop the supply of snacks and drinks categorised as “snacks to choose less” to reduce the intake of fat, salt and sugar by students.

Childhood obesity in schools is a multifaceted public health issue requiring a holistic approach. Schools can play a pivotal role by providing healthy meals, promoting physical activity, raising awareness and integrating preventive strategies into daily routines. Coordinated action involving students, parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and policymakers is essential to curb obesity.