"Can you believe this man was once a billionaire and today he came to the ground level and has to start from scratch?,” said a buyer of a forklift truck, giving his first name as Nasser.
Dubai Meeting
Prospective buyers were mainly businessmen from local construction companies and other contractors.
"This auction gives a clear message that the court is serious to carry out the liquidation process of all assets to repay creditors," said al-Rashid. "We expect to finalize liquidation of all assets during this year."
Money raised from the first phase of the auction, expected to be completed by the end of April, will go towards repaying creditors owed around 18 billion riyals, he said.
A further 30 billion riyals of debt claims hadn't been processed by the court yet, he said.
Other people familiar with the sale process said the assets to be auctioned under the first phase were expected to cover around 10 to 15 percent of the 18 billion riyals in claims so far recognized by the court.
Priority for the repayment would first go to repaying unpaid workers, some of whom haven't been paid for more than a year. Vendors and other companies owed money would be given next priority, with banks at a later stage, the people said.
Some of the workers who hope to get paid through the liquidation process were among those attending the event.
Outside the court process, advisers to Saad Group recently asked some bank creditors to meet in Dubai in a bid to try to reach a consensual debt settlement on 16 billion riyals of claims, Reuters reported last week.