Buy bad loans along with groceries online

Alibaba-owned site offers customers in China distressed debt at hefty prices

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For 4.15 million yuan, customers on the site owned by e-retailing giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd can bid for the debt of a steelmaker from Zhejiang. Photo: Bloomberg

Bloomberg

Last Updated : Jul 11 2017 | 10:38 PM IST

Among the sneakers, diapers and pet food for sale on Taobao, China’s biggest e-commerce platform, is a listing that may take up a little more space in the online shopping basket.

For 4.15 million yuan ($610,000), customers on the site owned by e-retailing giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd can bid for the debt of a steelmaker from Zhejiang, a coastal province in eastern China. The company has failed to pay back a 9.95 million-yuan loan, including interest, so a distressed asset manager is auctioning it off to the highest online bidder.

It’s not the only bad debt for sale on Taobao, which

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