appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

SCMP Reporter

A record  price of HK$16.5 million was set for a car plate with the number '18' in a tightly contested auction yesterday.
The plate, which  replaced '9' as the most expensive for sale in Hong Kong, was bought by an electronics businessman, surnamed Cheung, after 43 rounds of bidding.
Emperor Group chairman Albert Yeung Sau-shing bought the '9' plate for HK$13 million in 1994. He  pocketed another number, '29', for his collection yesterday, bidding HK$7 million.
The enthusiastic response from  the auction was  contrary to the fading interest in the Personalised Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme, launched in 2004-05 by Henry Tang Ying-yen when he was the financial secretary.
HK$33 million was collected in the sale of 38 plates. Proceeds, with expenses deducted, will go to the Lotteries Fund.
Mr Cheung said his new purchase would be a 'good companion' to another car plate of his, 'XX 18'.
'I do not mind spending more money on something I like.'
The number 18 is auspicious among Hong Kong Chinese. It  is pronounced similar  to the Cantonese phrase 'must get rich'.
The number used to belong to the late Lo Tak-shing, a former executive councillor and vice-chairman of the Basic Law Consultative Committee.  He died in 2006.
Car-plate trader Chan Ming-choi, of 118 Professional Lucky Number, said the sale prices for the '18' and '29' plates were not surprising as numbers of that kind were rare.
'These were the only two numbers left  between 2 and 99 for car plates,'  he said.
'The competition for these numbers was particularly fierce because they were auspicious.'
The number 29 might have attracted professionals such as doctors because it sounds like  'easy to be cured' in Cantonese.
Mr Chan also said the booming economy was a factor in the prices the car plates fetched.
The Personalised Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme, which had raised HK$57.8 million in eight auctions last year in its first  year of operation,  has seen public interest decline.
The government had set an annual target of HK$70 million to be generated.
The first auction's most expensive car plate was inscribed '1 L0VE U' and sold for HK$1.4 million. Since then, a plate inscribed 'FC' sold for HK$450,000, and one marked 'BRUCE LEE' sold for HK$40,000 to one of the late movie star's fans.
Driven up
HK's most expensive car plates
18  $16.5 m
Number  Price (HKD)
9      $13m
2      $9.5m
29     $7m
1 LOVE U   $1.4m
TVB     $800,000
33 PORSCHE FERRAR1   $700,000
JW HSBC   $500,000
FC COOL    $450,000
JP  CM      $400,000
RC         $360,000
K1NG   $300,000
BENZ    $280,000



Electronics man pays HK$16.5m to drive off with No18 car plate