Emirates Auction holds the record for the top ten most expensive license plates sold worldwide, after Plate 9 sold for a record Dh15.4 million at Saturday's auction in Abu Dhabi. "We now dominate the Top Ten chart after bumping off Hong Kong's six-million-dirham Plate 9," announced Abdulla Matar Al Mannaei, Managing Director of Emirates Auction, which organizes the Code 5 license plate auctions on behalf of the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police.

Emirates Auction sold the most expensive license plate in the world – Dh52.2 million Plate “1” – at its Feb. 16 auction. At Dh15.4 million, Plate 9 now ranks in third place, after Plate 6 which sold for Dh15.2million.

Number “9” was the fifth single-digit number to go under the hammer, and beat out Plate "6" (Dh15 million) and Plate "7" (Dh11 million), despite being a higher number.

At Saturday's auction, held at Emirates Palace Hotel, Plate 29 sold for Dh 4million, Plate 87 for Dh2.45 million, and Plates 93 and 52 for Dh2.2 million each. Rounding out the list of million-dollar-plus plates was Plate 300, at Dh1.08 million. "The strong interest and the increasing prices are proof that license plates continue to be a great investment," said Mannaei.

In total, the auction raised more than Dh 52 million from the sale of 100 plates and was attended by 450 bidders. In one year, Emirates Auction has raised more than Dh420 million from the sale of 794 plates in nine charity auctions.

All proceeds go towards building a world-class emergency and trauma care center for victims of road accidents and other debilitating conditions, as announced by H.H. Major-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Interior.

Hong Kong's plate "9" was snapped up by tycoon Albert Yeung for HK$13 million (Dh 6 million) in 1994, making it the most expensive plate sold there. The auctions are organized by the world-renown Emirates Auction on behalf of the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police and sponsored by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Emirates Palace.

© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)