In 2006, Henry Tang Ying-yen (then Financial Secretary) announced a relatively minor money-making scheme by allowing the auction of personalised car number plates. This scheme cleverly undermines the intellectual property rights of creative types, and rewards those who have the means (i.e. money) to buy unique car plates. The HKSAR Government justifies this scheme by saying the annual net proceeds from auctioning these car plates would be used to fund poverty alleviation initiatives. HKSAR car plates must use a combination of eight numbers, letters or blanks.
A positive effect of the scheme is that Bloggers like HKSARblog profit (albeit not financially) by being able to comment on the potentially weird and wonderful car plates that zip along Hong Kong’s roads. It’s always nice to be able to take a picture of weird vanity plates (search this Blog for "Vanity Plate").
Vanity Plates 2015
Here are some examples reported at some auctions:
16 September 2006 Government Auction
1 L0VE U [HK$1.4 million (US$180,000)]
TVB [HK$800,000]
P0RSCHE [HK$700,000]
C00L [HK$450,000]
K1NG [HK$300,000]
AAR0N [HK$250,000]
SKY [HK$$220,000]
4 August 2007 Government Auction
FC [HK$450,000]
RS [HK$360,000]
NOSIE
JUICY
TOYZONE
INVENTOR
PAPER
15 September 2007 Government Auction
JW [HK$500,000]
JP [HK$400,000]
CM [HK$400,000]
MACAU 1 [HK$80,000]
BILLION [HK$30,000]
DAB [HK$15,000]
17 October 2008 Government Auction
AK [HK$230,000]
HANDSOME [HK$130,000]
OOPS [HK$20,000]
LAZY BOY [HK$10,000]
PHYS10
SOCIAL
HORMONE
UPSET
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Posts
Somebody applied for, and got, unopposed, for $5000, the plate LBFM.
ReplyDeleteI'm astonished that got through the Transport Departments vetting process.
Acronyms are RRAIPPL. Half the time I can’t figure them out!
ReplyDeleteAnyways, note that LAZY BOY was on offer for $10,000. So wonder what LAZY GIRL or even LADY BOY would fetch?