PTI Mar 6, 2015, 01.10PM IST <\/p>\n
(In an unusual auction, four) <\/p>\n
BEIJING: In an unusual auction, four islands in Fiji, Greece, Britain and Canada were put up for sale on China's largest online shopping platform Taobao with three of them being sold within 12 hours. <\/p>\n
Any Chinese citizen who put up a 1,000 yuan (USD 159) deposit was qualified to bid. <\/p>\n
Starting at 10 am (local time) on Wednesday, at least 48 bidders took part in the auction. Except for the UK property, which had a starting price of 4 million yuan and was not sold, the other three islands had a starting price of only 1 yuan. <\/p>\n
The island in Fiji was sold with 99-year rental property rights while the others were sold freehold, state-run reported. <\/p>\n
When the auction ended at 10 pm on Wednesday, a construction magnate in Yunnan province had bought the islands in Greece and Canada for 4.8 million yuan and 1.7 million yuan, respectively. <\/p>\n
A businessman in Zhejiang province bought the island in Fiji for 5 million yuan, according to Beijing-based Ilongterm, the real estate firm that held the auction. <\/p>\n
\"We chose to work with Taobao as a strategic partner, because it is undoubtedly the most influential online shopping platform in China right now. Our bidders in this auction were long-time users of Taobao who have spent about 10 million yuan on it\" so far, Ilongterm said. <\/p>\n
Ilongterm will take the winning bidders to their islands for on-site inspections and the completion of procedures such as paying taxes, commissions and legal expenses. <\/p>\n
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3 of 4 overseas islands up for auction sold to Chinese bidders<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PTI Mar 6, 2015, 01.10PM IST (In an unusual auction, four) BEIJING: In an unusual auction, four islands in Fiji, Greece, Britain and Canada were put up for sale on China's largest online shopping platform Taobao with three of them being sold within 12 hours. Continue reading