In the latest news on November 14, 2025, the Chinese real estate market continues to struggle with no signs of recovery in sight. The iconic building in Guangzhou, the “Guangzhou Circle Building,” went up for auction for the third time and ended up being unsold as no one placed a bid. The starting price for the auction was 1.36 billion yuan (RMB), a significant drop of nearly 76% from the second starting price of 5.589 billion yuan.
On November 14th, the Alibaba asset platform showed that the auction for the stake in “Guangdong Xingye International Industrial Co., Ltd. (reorganization investment rights)” ended at 10:00 am that day, attracting over 29,000 views, but sadly, no bids were made resulting in the auction being unsuccessful.
Prior to this, on October 28th, the administrator of Guangdong Xingye International Industrial Co., Ltd. issued a public notice announcing the auction of the reorganization investment rights from November 13th at 10:00 am to November 14th at 10:00 am. Despite over 500 people setting reminders within the span of a few days, there were no participants in the auction.
According to information from the auction platform, the specific assets of this project include 2 pieces of land-use rights, 3 real estate properties, and fixed assets. The primary asset is the iconic building in Guangzhou, the “Guangzhou Circle Building.” The evaluation price of the project is nearly 1.7 billion yuan, starting at 1.36 billion yuan after a 20% discount, with a bidding guarantee deposit of 67.98 million yuan. The proceeds from the auction will be used as debt repayment funds to cover bankruptcy costs, common debts, and the settlement of various claims.
The Guangzhou Circle Building has previously been auctioned twice before. It was first auctioned in April 2022 and then again in August 2023, starting at 5.589 billion yuan. The auction price this time dropped significantly by 75.7% from the previous auction and unfortunately went unsold once again. As reported earlier, the project administrator will proceed with the next auction.
Located in the Baietan Business District of Liwan District, Guangzhou, the “Guangzhou Circle Building” stands at 138 meters tall, with 33 floors and a total floor area of approximately 105,000 square meters. Designed by a professor from the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy, the building was completed in 2013 with a total investment of around 1 billion yuan. Its circular shape resembling a coin has earned it the nickname “Coin Building” and stands as a symbol along the Pearl River waterfront. Despite being considered “tacky” by the public, it was once dubbed the “ugliest building” by netizens.
Public information indicates that Xingye International was established on June 22, 2004, with shareholders: Hongda Xingye Group Co., Ltd. holding 96% of the shares and Guangdong Dongsha Logistics Co., Ltd. holding 4% of the shares. The main assets under Xingye International include the land-use rights and real estate of the “Guangzhou Circle Building” project in the Liwan District of Guangzhou.
Since the end of 2020, the major shareholder of Xingye International, Hongda Xingye Group, has been facing a debt crisis with multiple bond defaults and expanding overdue loans. On February 24, 2023, the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court accepted the bankruptcy liquidation application of Hongda Xingye Group, leading to the third auction of the “Guangzhou Circle Building” in November 2025.