In a move that could boost South Florida’s reach in the international art world, the company that owns Art Basel Miami Beach announced Friday it is expanding into Asia.

Soon, there will not only be Art Basel Switzerland and Art Basel Miami Beach, but also Art Basel Hong Kong — an addition that was welcomed warmly in Miami’s art scene.

MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd., which owns and organizes the Basel fairs, has signed a purchase agreement with Asian Art Fairs Ltd, the owners of ART HK – Hong Kong International Art Fair, the leading art fair in Asia since 2008.

The MCH Group will take a majority ownership stake in Asian Art Fairs Ltd. as of July 1. But the name change will wait awhile.

The Hong Kong show will retain its current name for 2012, but will move from its current late-May time slot to early February, staggering the show between Art Basel’s June fair in Switzerland and its December show in Miami Beach.

In future years, organizers plan to rebrand the Asian show with the Art Basel name. The Basel Switzerland show, dubbed “Basel, Basel” by locals, is considered the largest and most prestigious contemporary art fair in the world.

In an interview with The Miami Herald, co-directors Annette Schönholzer and Marc Spiegler stressed that the Basel presence in Hong Kong was an expansion and that Art Basel planned to stay in Miami Beach, which will be in its 10th year in December.

“We are totally committed to Art Basel Miami Beach,” Schönholzer said. “If anything, we are hoping that the Art Basel brand would strengthen and that we would see more people coming to Miami Beach to see the fair.”

Art Basel organizers have been attentive to the exploding Asian art market for more than 10 years, and have been engaging Asian collectors, galleries and artists, often times bringing them to Art Basel Miami Beach with success.