That's the bubbly amount a Singapore businessman paid at a wine auction in Hong Kong last Saturday.

Mr Singgih Gunawan (left) splashed out HK$1.89 million (S$332,640) on 12 bottles of 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti - described as the scarcest, most expensive wine in the world.

This is the highest price the wine, from France's Burgundy region, has ever fetched at an auction, according to Bloomberg News.

In October last year, auction house Sotheby's London sold a 12-bottle case of 1967 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti for £58,650 (S$158,765).

Mr Gunawan's historic purchase was the biggest lot of the night at what the International Herald Tribune called the largest wine auction in Asian history. It was held by New York-based Acker Merrall & Condit, the world's largest wine auctioneer, at the Island Shangri-La Hotel.

Little is known about Mr Gunawan, who reportedly ducked into the restroom after the auction to avoid the Hong Kong press, but eventually emerged with a few brief remarks.

He said he had bought the wine for a friend, and that the price was reasonable, according to a report by Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News yesterday.

Although a search of Singapore companies turned up nothing on Mr Gunawan, an Internet search linked his name to an Indonesian snack factory and coal company, among others.

A Mr Singgih Gunawan is also listed in the phone book as living in a 24th floor apartment at the posh Ardmore Park condominium here.

A call to the apartment revealed that its owner, who has four children, has been in Singapore for six years and now splits his time between Singapore and Indonesia.

The auction was a huge success for Acker Merrall & Condit, which sold US$8.2 million (S$11.2 million) worth of wine under the hammer at its first Asian event.

The success bodes well for Hong Kong, which recently abolished its 40 per cent wine tax in the hope of bringing in more boozy business.