Taiwanese firm lands free stadium seats deal
A Taiwanese fruit company was given the right to advertise on seats at Beijing National Stadium - the 'Bird's Nest' - for free at a public auction yesterday.
A spokesman for the auction company said the decision, by Olympic organisers Bocog, was aimed at indicating that 'blood was thicker than water' in cross-strait relations.
Earlier this month it was announced that companies could bid to have their names displayed on the back of all 80,000 seats at the Italian Super Cup match on August 8.
The game, between Serie A clubs Inter Milan and Lazio, is being played at the Bird's Nest to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the Olympic Games.
Nongzhixiang, run by Taiwanese businessman Huang Yi-chung, was awarded the rights ahead of nine other Taiwanese companies and one mainland firm, who had all put down a 100,000 yuan (HK$113,600) returnable deposit to enter the auction.
'We decided to give the naming rights to all 80,000 seats for free to our 'King of Taiwan fruit', Huang Yi-chung,' the auctioneer from Beijing Yihai Auction Company, announced. The auctioneer did not offer any further explanation, and the announcement was greeted with shock by those who had come to witness a competitive auction.
Mr Huang will have to pay an estimated 240,000 yuan for the costs of the 80,000 seat covers, but the auction was expected to be competitive.
Mr Huang said he had spoken to Bocog before the auction, but the issue of money had never been brought up. 'I am very surprised [by the result]. We sincerely plan to contribute as sponsors to more major sports events that take place in the Bird's Nest in the future.'
The mainland company, which had planned to bid up to one million yuan for the one-off rights, said it was unfair. 'It's an unexpected result for us,' a spokesman said.
When asked whether the process had been unfair, a Bocog official said: 'It was a little but if we offered it to any mainland enterprise that would have invited even more criticism.'
Mr Huang was one of the first Taiwanese farmers to come to the mainland after duties were lifted on 10 types of fruit in 2005. Based in Fuzhou, Fujian province, Mr Huang owns three wholesale centres and 13 outlets on the mainland.
Olympic related products have proved lucrative on auction lots since the Games. China Beijing Equity Exchange (CBBX), a state-run firm appointed to dispose of the assets, has sold 700,000 items in the past year, state media reported. CBBX will offer another lot of items on August 8, ranging from an Olympic torch to furniture from VIP rooms.
