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Emirati owner of 5,000 special number plates buys one more for Dh3.1m at Dubai auction

Dubai - He has owned a total of 5,000 special plates

Emirati businessman Majid Mustafa is now the proud owner of the distinctive Dubai car plate number AA10 after posting the winning bid of Dh3.12m during the Roads and Transport Authority's (RTA) 97th open auction on Saturday.
The RTA's year-end auction, which raised a total of Dh12.75m, saw nine other AA code plates, including 12, 50, 100, 333, 786, 1000, 8888, 11111, and 55555 going under the hammer.
In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times after the bidding, Mustafa said he will keep AA10 for his personal use and will mount it on one of his cars.
Mustafa, who has been participating in RTA auctions since 2002, said he has owned a total of 5,000 special plates, many of which he has traded and gained profitable margins. The most expensive plate he has acquired to date was I10 which he got for Dh6m.
The second most expensive plate on Saturday went to Essa Al Habbai who grabbed AA12 for Dh2.72m. Another Emirati won the bidding for the third most expensive plate AA50, priced at Dh1.84m, while 44-year-old Lebanese expat Zaherchafie acquired AA11111 for Dh1.21m.
Another Emirati businessman, 32-year-old Jaber Khamis, who participated in the RTA auction for only the second time got his hands on AA333 for Dh700,000. In RTA's previous auction he got a special plate for Dh500,000 and was able to enjoy a Dh200,000 profit after a couple of months.
"The plate (AA333) is really special. I will mount it on my Lamborghini but I might also sell it if I find the right buyer who will offer a really price," he told Khaleej Times.
At the auction, the RTA has also unveiled the new design for Dubai car plates which bear the Dubai brand logo and the letters and digits printed in black on white background.
Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of RTA's licensing agency, said the RTA will start replacing the existing plates of light vehicles by the newly designed plates with two-letter codes from February 2018 because the stock of single-code distinctive plates is about to be exhausted.
"But the owners will enjoy exclusivity of the two-letter codes for one year. We've only introduced 10 special numbers with AA codes and we will ensure that these two-letter codes will not be sold for one year to exclusivity to those who bought these distinguished plates," he said.
angel@khaleejtimes.com
Worth of special plates
AA10 - Dh3,120,000
AA12 - Dh2,720,000
AA50 - Dh1,840,000
AA11111 - Dh1,210,000
AA100 - Dh910,000
AA333 - Dh700,000
AA55555 - Dh670,000
AA1000 - Dh630,000
AA8888 - Dh500,000
AA786 - Dh450,000