When Bow-Tie Tsang (煲呔曾) is claiming our city faces its most serious economic test since World War II, it’s reassuring to know that Hong Kong’s elite still focuses on the important things in life. Recently, car number plate 1234 fetched a whopping HK$ 360,000.00 (US$ 46,445.00) at a government auction. Apparently these bi-weekly auctions allow our government to pocket an additional HK$ 70 million a year.

A few years ago the lucky number 8 was sold for millions of dollars. That digit rocks as it’s supposed to represent wealth and happiness, whereas number 4 is bad news. But is it really? Last year a Tai Tai splashed out around HK$ 1 million for a car license plate carrying 4444, despite the number’s traditional links to death and tooth decay in Chinese culture. Number 18 was sold in February 2008 for approx. HK$ 12 million.

But hey, why spend your dough on boring car plates with only numbers, when a little creativity allows for better ways to express one’s individuality. We’ll be bidding for ‘PU55YCAT’, ‘MRB3EAN’ and our favorite, ‘CHOPST1CK’, at next week’s auction to spice up the Beamer’s appearance. See below for some of the results of previous auctions. Click on the image to enlarge.