Rare stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons has announced the opening of Stanley Gibbons (Asia) Ltd in the central district of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is now one of the world's powerhouses for the sale of postage stamps, and no doubt Stanley Gibbons wanted a piece of the action. Why should Interasia, Spink, Feldman and the like have all the fun?

Prices for select rare stamps are higher than ever with world record prices frequently reset and pre-sale auction estimates often trounced.

The world record price for a Chinese stamp has been broken four times in the past year alone. Indeed, Gibbons has launched a China Rarities Index average annual growth at 44% over the past four and a half years, up to April 2011.

We've been noting the consistently powerful interest in Chinese stamps at Paul Fraser Collectibles too. The most recent example is offered by a Golden Monkey stamp sheet which has just broken the word record again at HK$1,495,000.

As we noted, that's an increase of 186% in a little over 18 months - a remarkable investment return during this economic recession.

Chinese stamps such as this 1888 block are leaping up in value (Click to find out more)

Gibbons is also offering a range of other collectibles, not just stamps such as valuable multiples of the first stamp, the Penny Black, but also signed manuscripts by the likes of Bruce Lee.

No doubt Lee will be particularly popular, with his star quality on both sides of the Pacific making his memorabilia highly desirable. We recently discussed Bruce Lee's legacy on our blog.

Check back for any news of big sales by the company in their new offices, or read about the man Stanley Gibbons's personal history.