D'Long Mansion, the landmark of the collapsed D'Long financial empire was auctioned for 595 million yuan (US$73.46 million) yesterday.

SIG Investment Co Ltd, the investment arm of state-owned Shanghai International Group Corp Ltd, walked off with the office building at the floor price, facing no competition during the half-hour bidding session.

The auction was an important step in dealing with D'Long's debts, according to a statement from Huarong Assets Management Company of China, liquidators of the conglomerate's assets.

The office building is located in Lujiazui in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. The total floor space is approximately 23,000 square meters, with six floors above and two floors underground. The selling price puts the per-square-meter value of the building at around 25,000 yuan (US$3,090).

"We are satisfied with the price," said an unnamed official from SIG Investment after the auction, but he refused to elaborate on the future use of the building.

The building attracted a lot of attention even before the auction started. More than 20 buyers surveyed the place before the auction, according to the Shanghai International Commodity Auctions Co Ltd, which was in charge of the auction.

The building, former headquarters of D'Long International Strategic Investment Co, was repossessed by the mortgagee bank after D'Long's financial problems surfaced.

D'Long's total debt is reported to be as high as 57 billion yuan (US$7.04 billion). The company's founder, Tang Wanxin, went on trial on January 20 for rigging stock prices and illegal fund raising.

The case is the largest-ever financial scandal in China, involving more then 2,500 institutions and 32,000 stockholders and investors in about 20 provinces.

(China Daily January 26, 2006)