HONG KONG.- Spink & Son, the world’s leading collectables auction house, is delighted to announce a major development in their expansion in Hong Kong and Greater China. Spink Chairman and CEO Olivier D. Stocker is relocating to Hong Kong to further galvanise Spink’s thriving Asia business.

The move will expand and develop Spink China’s already significant presence in Asia. Mr Stocker, who previously lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for over a decade, will focus on client relationships in Asia and help clients build or dispose of important collections.

Two years ago, Spink expanded in China with two new acquisitions: leading philatelic auction house Phila China, and fine wine auction business Oeno China, founded by Anna Lee. Mr Stocker will work closely with Mrs Lee to grow the business in Hong Kong and meet the needs of our new collectors in Asia for both collectables and wine. He will continue to run the global business and will regularly travel to all our offices from the global hub of Hong Kong.

Spink, which was founded in 1666, has been holding auctions in Hong Kong since 1986. Multiple sales of stamps, coins, banknotes, bonds & shares certificates and wines are currently taking place in our Hong Kong office throughout the year. Mr Stocker upholds that Hong Kong, being positioned at the crossroads of East and West, is the future of the collectables business. He said: “We all know the collectables market has gone global. Spink has always been at the forefront with offices and acquisitions in Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Lugano. Now we continue to innovate with the top decision maker based in Hong Kong. We are undoubtedly the most global company in the field, now with a serious Asian twist.”

“There has been a huge increase in auctioneering in Asia over recent years. Ten years ago, only Spink and a handful of others were active on the Hong Kong scene”, said Mr Stocker, speaking of the development. “This has led to a new demand for the finest collectables. China – and HK in particular – through its demanding and sophisticated collectors is making an enormous impact on the cultural landscape of the auction business and it is essential that we capitalise further on this through the history, tradition and expertise of Spink. The future of the Penny Black and medieval gold noble is in Hong Kong and the Mainland! That is why I am delighted to be back here, with my family, to be part of these fundamental changes. Collectables, as first hand witnesses of history, are growing every day in popularity and have become, dare I say, an asset class of their own.”

This significant step of locating the CEO in Hong Kong, is another “first” for Spink, as no other global auction house has done it yet.

On 21 August 2013, Spink China sold the highly praised Nicholas Rhodes Tibetan coin collection in Hong Kong. This included some extremely rare coins, many of which surpassed their estimated values and achieved record prices.

Spink also just concluded the three-day sales series held in Singapore (20-22 September) which offered Fine Wines, Stamps & Covers of South East Asia and The Japanese Occupation Issues of South East Asia and achieved strong total results with new records for photographic essays of Singapore and Malaysia.