A Chinese court
is auctioning a skyscraper on the country's largest e-commerce website - with a
sky-high starting price of 553 million yuan ($84.2) million.
The 39-floor
building in Taiyuan, northern Shanxi province, along with the land on which it
sits, goes on the block January 2 on Taobao, Alibaba's e-commerce platform.
Construction on
the skyscraper began in 2006. Standing 156 metres high and with over 76,000
square metres of floor space, it was originally designed to be a hotel, state
media Xinhua reported Monday.
But the project
was suspended due to lack of funding after major construction work was
completed in 2010, according to a statement by the Shanxi Provincial Higher
People's Court, Xinhua said.
Photos of a
dimly-lit underground parking lot and unfinished building interior with dusty
floors piled with construction materials were posted by the court on the
auction page.
Almost all
Chinese courts have set up accounts on Taobao's judicial auction platform for
more efficient and transparent handling of assets seized in lawsuits, according
to Xinhua.
Apartment
buildings, cars, confiscated jewelry and mobile phones are all being auctioned
by authorities on the e-commerce platform.