Ritchie Bros. Officially Announces First China Auction Date

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers will hold its first unreserved public auction in China on April 18, 2013. In addition to securing an official auction date, the company has started receiving its first consignments, which include a mixture of unused international and local equipment.

Current equipment highlights include an unused 2010 Kato HD820V hydraulic excavator; a 2009 Caterpillar 320D-E hydraulic excavator; and a 2007 Caterpillar D7G Series II crawler tractor. The company stated in November 2012 it will bring the certainty of unreserved auctions to Chinese equipment buyers and sellers now that the company's Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise application had been approved by the Chinese government.

"Now that we have received approval from the Chinese government, we are excited to open up the global heavy equipment market to Chinese equipment owners," said Stephen Branch, vice president, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "Our global heavy equipment network is more than 50 years in the making. Today, it consists of more than 40 auction sites around the world, an industry-leading website and a suite of value added services that make our auctions a one-stop-shop for heavy equipment buyers and sellers. We encourage local and international equipment owners to participate in this truly global event by contacting our Beijing office. April is just around the corner."

One of the first local sellers to consign equipment to the upcoming Beijing unreserved public auction is Xie Qianbo, owner of Shanghai Jin Jichang Engineering Machinery Co. Ltd. - a Shanghai-based heavy equipment dealer.

"I have known Ritchie Bros. for many years now and have attended their auctions outside of China," said Xie. "I have seen with my own eyes the attraction power that Ritchie Bros. has. They have the power to bring legitimate buyers from around the world who need to buy my machines in order to put them to work right away. This is why we are selling our equipment at the first ever Ritchie Bros. auction in China. The process is simple and trustworthy."

Ritchie Bros. has formally leased land in the Tianzhu Free Trade Zone (Shunyi, Beijing) in preparation for this first unreserved public auction in China. Strategically located within minutes of Beijing Capital International Airport, the Tianzhu Free Trade Zone is connected to one of China's largest roll-on, roll-off ports in Tianjin. Equipment buyers and sellers interested in learning more about Ritchie Bros. and the unreserved auction process are encouraged to visit rbauction.com or contact the Company's Beijing office at +86.400.810.2223.

"For many years we have been learning China's market, customer needs and behaviors," added Chris Edwards, Ritchie Bros. General Manager for China, Korea and Mongolia. "It's exciting that we are about to introduce the unreserved auction process in China, which we believe is the most fair and transparent way for heavy equipment buyers and sellers to conduct business."

WHAT EQUIPMENT BUYERS AND SELLERS CAN EXPECT FROM RITCHIE BROS. CHINA AUCTIONS
There is a lot of excitement for the arrival of Ritchie Bros. unreserved public auctions in China. Here are some highlights of the Company's unreserved auction process:

For sellers: