HONG KONG  - U.S. wine seller Acker Merrall & Condit will hold what it dubs Asia's largest ever wine auction in Hong Kong, following the city's decision to scrap duties on wine in a bid to become an Asian wine hub.

The U.S. wine merchant's Hong Kong auction on May 31 is estimated to fetch more than $5 million and will include "cream of the crop" wine lots including cases of 1982 Chateau Lafite and other "first growths" of Latour, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild.

"Hong Kong is ready to run on the fast track to becoming a global wine hub, alongside New York and London, and we are committed to facilitating Hong Kong's vision in achieving this," said John Kapon, the president of Acker Merrall & Condit, in a statement.

Hong Kong recently announced it would abolish duties for beer, wine and all alcoholic drinks except spirits, which could uncork 0 million of new wine business to the city.

"We're in a very good position to put ourselves together as a wine hub for the region," Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang told Reuters in a recent interview.

"In the past few years we've seen a huge growth in wine and the market in the mainland (China) is tremendous," Tsang added.

The expected flood into Hong Kong of high-end vintages lurking in cellars in Europe and Asia has sparked talk global auction giants Christie's and Sotheby's could hold vintage wine auctions in Hong Kong after a lull of nearly a decade.

International auction house Bonhams plans to hold its inaugural wine auction in Hong Kong next month, which will include vintages such as 1982 Chateau Lafite, 1985 La Tache and a rare magnum of 1992 Screaming Eagle.

Industry representatives said the slashing of Hong Kong's 40 percent duty on wine now gave it an edge over rivals like Tokyo and Singapore, with wine prices likely to fall 10 to 20 percent.