Boeing 747s finally find buyers on Taobao

SHENZHEN - Two Boeing 747 Freighters were auctioned off Tuesday on Taobao, the shopping platform of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

The aircraft were purchased by leading Chinese air express carrier SF Airlines for more than 320 million yuan ($48 million), according to the Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen city.

Three Boeing 747 aircraft went up for auction on Monday. One of the auction attempts failed because only one buyer registered to bid, the court said.

The freight planes were owned by Jade Cargo International, the first Chinese cargo carrier with foreign investment. The company was founded in 2004, but the joint venture later filed for bankruptcy with the court in 2013.

The three Boeing freighters had been put up for auction offline six times since October 2015, but failed to find buyers.

"Online auctions are a good way to handle the property of bankrupt firms," said Long Guangwei, the court's vice-president. "This successful auction of the Boeing 747s sets a good example for judicial auctions of aircraft in China in the future."

Almost all Chinese courts have registered on Taobao's judicial sales platform since the service was launched in 2012. It is the first time Boeing cargo aircraft have been the subject to a Taobao judicial auction.