
Jia Yueting. Photo: VCG
A second attempt to sell a Beijing commercial complex owned by debt-ridden entrepreneur Jia Yueting failed as not a single bid was placed in a one-day auction.
More than 57,000 people logged in over the weekend to watch the online court auction of Shimao Gongsan, a shopping complex located in the city’s Sanlitun area, but not one person placed a bid, according to the auction site operated by Alibaba Group.
It is the second time for the complex to be listed for auction. The asset was offered with a starting price of 2.19 billion yuan ($327 million), a 5% discount off the amount asked in January in the previous auction, which also failed to attract any bids.
Shimao Gongsan, wholly owned by Jia, founder of once-highflying technology conglomerate LeEco and U.S.-based electric car startup Faraday Future, has an estimated value of 3.3 billion yuan. The complex is among Jia’s assets that have been frozen and are being sold by a court to recover his debts.
A Beijing-based lawyer said that after two failed auctions the court may seek to liquidate the asset with deeper discounts of as much as 50% off the estimated valuation.
Analysts said the poor business performance and complicated ownership of Shimao Gongsan, which includes a shopping mall, office building and hotel and covers 49,200 square meters, are the main factors hindering buyers. Part of Shimao Gongsan’s office building is held by multiple small owners, Caixin learned.
Jia bought the complex in May 2016 for nearly 3 billion yuan shortly before his business empire was hit by a capital crunch. The complex was pledged in August 2016 to Citic Bank for 1.8 billion yuan, on which the borrower later defaulted.
Related: Jia Yueting’s Beijing Mall Offered for Sale at 5% Discount