By Anna Brady

Investors are refocusing attention on Asia Pacific, both from within and without. The region’s flourishing tech and AI sectors, comparatively steady political climate, and growth-focused new governments have engendered a spirit of optimism, with an influx of intra-regional investment and global stakeholders who predict the region’s economy is on the cusp of a supercycle.

‘We have seen investors from Europe and the US coming back to Asia, including to China,’ says Adrian Zuercher, Co-Head Global Asset Allocation and Co-Head Global Investment Management APAC at UBS Chief Investment Office, who adds that Asian investors are also seeking more global exposure.

Does the Asian art market stand to benefit? Zuercher thinks so: ‘The big macro trends are healthy, and this normally translates into the art market. A lot of investors are reconsidering their allocation toward Asia. Usually, this activity plays out in the region’s art market too.’

The latest Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026 also found dealers across the Asia region in a more upbeat mood, with 64% optimistic about business. However, optimism has not yet translated into sales data – in 2025, growth was a mixed picture, with Japan’s sales 1% down on 2025, although South Korea posted gains of 6%. Sales in China, the third biggest global market behind the US and UK, increased by just 1% to USD 8.5 billion. Nothing remarkable, but an upswing can take time to manifest in numbers. Besides, as the Hong Kong-based art advisor Patti Wong points out, growth can be measured in other ways – many Asian cities have well-supported and vibrant, if nascent, local art ecosystems, which, Wong says, ‘should not be overlooked.’

Growth in the region’s art market is ‘felt most strongly at a local and regional level, and that’s translating very directly into art‑market behavior,’ says Eric Landolt, Global Head Family Advisory, Art & Collecting, UBS Global Wealth Management. While international buying may have softened, ‘domestic collectors across markets such as Mainland China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore have remained engaged,’ he continues. A groundswell of confidence in the Asian art scene, despite sobering global instability, has also struck Angelle Siyang-Le, Director of Art Basel in Hong Kong: ‘What stands out is the resilience and depth of engagement in this region – an underlying strength that continues to anchor activity and sustain momentum.’

If the predicted Asian ‘supercycle’ spills over into the art market, it’s more likely to present as a refinement than a rush, Landolt thinks: ‘Stronger financial markets tend to give collectors confidence, but that confidence is usually expressed through discernment rather than volume.’ Therefore, if a supercycle does take hold, its impact is ‘most likely to be felt at the top end,’ Landolt says. This would appear to be borne out by Wong’s observation that, at the very top end of the market, ‘Asian collectors remain highly active. . .while the market may feel more measured, demand for the very best material remains resilient.’

Widely noted is the pivot toward intra-regional buying. ‘Collectors across Asia are increasingly buying regionally rather than looking primarily to Europe or the US,’ says Landolt, who believes this could ‘become a lasting structural driver.’ While the domestic markets in China and Japan remain dominant, ‘regional flows within Asia are growing in depth and sophistication.’ Wong concurs: ‘Asia is increasingly circulating demand within the region. . .it does make more sense to buy closer to home.’ Rising shipping costs combined with tariffs, heightened regulation, and geopolitical factors have added friction to cross‑border movement. But, Siyang-Le says, such ‘regional connectivity has become a source of stability and opportunity for the [Hong Kong] fair.’

This shift to intra-regional trade is a global phenomenon. More than half the dealers who responded to the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026 bemoaned greater tax, duties, and shipping costs, deterring some from international transactions. Even for dealers with turnover above USD 10 million, with the most international clients, the share of local buyers rose 6%, to 29%.

Although overseas engagement remains important for hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore, in Landolt’s view their future strength ‘lies in facilitating pan‑Asian exchange rather than acting solely as gateways to Western markets.’ Hong Kong will continue to be Asia’s art market center for high‑value works, but ‘with a more Asia‑centric buyer base,’ he continues, adding that Shanghai and Beijing will benefit from ‘deep domestic engagement,’ while younger collectors and new wealth are likely drivers for Seoul and Singapore.

The weakening of the US dollar through 2025 saw Asian investors shifting away from US investments, seeking a more global outlook. ‘Investors are also looking to diversify their portfolios into other areas, for example infrastructure or private equity,’ Zuercher says. ‘Given the geopolitical trends worldwide, the best approach is to spread your risk much more globally.’

Across the region, Japan’s new growth-oriented prime minister has made it increasingly attractive to investors, Zuercher says, so too tech-forward South Korea, also under new leadership. ‘There are a lot of new governments in the region that want to revive domestic growth,’ he notes.

Zuercher has observed a rise in global family offices opening satellites in Singapore and Hong Kong. ‘Regulatory clarity and tax incentives have played a huge role,’ he says. Another major theme is succession planning and a marked wealth transfer ‘from a male-dominated to a more female-dominated environment,’ which is leading to changes in investor behavior, Zuercher explains.

Wong, who increasingly advises family offices on succession planning, is struck by the rising buying power of the younger generation: ‘Auction houses reported double-digit growth in millennial and younger first-time buyers and bidders in the last five years.’ This emergent generation of new collectors represents a structural shift that is more significant than any short‑term economic cycle.

Approaching this month’s Art Basel Hong Kong, the mood amongst galleries and collectors is one of ‘steady but measured confidence,’ Siyang-Le says. While the global art market faces multiple pressures, Hong Kong’s role as ‘a stabilizing hub,’ in the words of Siyang-Le, could become ever more important.