A total of 3,618 lots of jade, gems and pearls were sold during the 13-day auction, which ended Monday, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. It did not say how much was earned off the sale.
Poverty-stricken Myanmar is the source of up to 90 percent of the world’s rubies, and each auction of precious stones rakes in more than 100 million dollars, making it a key source of revenue for the military regime.
The most expensive jade lot at the auction was worth 80 million euros (120 million dollars), according to state-run Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE), the country’s third biggest state enterprise.

Share This Article by Email or Social Web

Posted: 11|27|07 at 9:28 am. Filed under: Auction News.