The Man Asian Literary Prize shortlist has been announced at two specially timed, twinned events in London and Hong Kong. The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto and River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh both made the final seven.

The Prize, which was originally set up in 2007 by sponsors of the Booker, is awarded to the best novel by an Asian writer that is either written in English or translated into English. The winner will be announced on March 15 2012 and will be awarded USD $30 000, with the translator (if there is one) receiving USD $5000.

Four of the shortlisted novels were originally written in English, with novels from South Korea, China and Japan entered as translated works.

Chair Judge, Razia Iqbal said that the judges were 'greatly impressed by the imaginative power of the stories now being written about rapidly changing life in worlds as diverse as the arid borderlands of Pakistan, the crowded cityscape of modern Seoul, and the opium factories of nineteenth century Canton'.

The full shortlist is as follows:

• The Wandering Falcon by Amil Ahmad (Pakistan)
• Rebirth by Jahnavi Barua (India)
• The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya (India)
• River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (India)
• Please Look After Mother by Kyung-Sook Shin (South Korea)
• Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke (China)
• The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto (Japan)