Gem auction cancelled as bidders avoid unpolished stones
The Legal Execution Department has cancelled an upcoming auction of jade and other gems in bulk after the confiscated assets failed to attract any bids in the previous seven attempts to auction them.
The rare and precious stones were seized under bankruptcy proceedings against individuals and firms. They have a combined estimated value of Bt316.07 million.
After several rounds passed without a bid coming forward, the starting price at the seventh round on Sunday was just Bt221 million.
But again, no one tendered a bid during the auction.
The department’s director-general, Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, said that they would cancel the eighth round of the auctions initially scheduled for November 11.
“We may have to change how these items will be auctioned off,” she conceded. “So, we will have to discuss the issue with the plaintiff who has first rights to these assets.”
Ruenvadee said her department noticed that some bidders just wanted to buy already-polished items, and not raw rare stones.
An informed source said the plaintiff had until now insisted that the items be auctioned in bulk, requiring polished and unpolished items to be sold together.