Dubai: Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a private auction?
Telecom provider du has released a short video that shows how the country’s high rollers battle it out just to own a unique mobile number.
The telecommunications company hosted on Saturday a special auction that saw the UAE’s wealthy dropped more than Dh7.4 million on 50 numbers.
The clip shows a crowd of about 80 people gathered at a function room in Grand Hyatt Convention Centre in Dubai. The highlight of the footage is the heated bidding for the first, exclusive 058 888 8888.
Bidding for the highly coveted number started from Dh10,000 and quickly crept up. A few bids were thrown back and forth before it was eventually sold for Dh4.52 million to UAE-based Indian businessman Balwinder Sahni.
It was one of the most generous amounts ever spent on a mobile line, though still lower than the Dh8 million record made by another UAE-based businessman in 2015.
“This auction is on fire,” du said in its tweet during the auction.
This year's winning bidder, who owns property management company RSG International, had earlier made news when he splurged Dh33 million on a special licence plate D5 in 2016.
It wasn’t the first time du has auctioned special mobile numbers. In 2015, du fetched a total of Dh18.9 million out of the 70 numbers sold, which included the unique 052 222 2222 that went to an Emirati businessman for Dh8 million, and 052 200 0000 that was bagged by another bidder for Dh4.15 million.
While the Dh8 million deal was a record for UAE, it was still behind the smashing Dh10 million sale generated in Qatar from the auction of the number 6666666 in 2006.
And the bidding continues 😱 who will walk away with the our exclusive 0588888888 number? pic.twitter.com/uHfeWikEpJ
— du (@dutweets) February 25, 2017
