Car number plate 1234 sold for $46,000

HONG KONG: Wealthy Hong Kong may be teetering on the brink of a recession but a prestige car number plate can still fetch more than $46,000, auctioneers said on Monday.
 
The car registration number 1234 fetched 360,000 Hong Kong dollars ($46,445) at Sunday's government auction where a total of 280 unusual plates raised just short of $345,000.
 
However, of the 280 plates put up for auction, some 30 failed to reach their reserve price in a sign that the economic downturn is beginning to bite in one of the world's richest cities.
 
Hong Kong shares have been among the worst hit in the recent downturn, with the Hang Seng Index shedding more than 25 percent of its value in the past six weeks alone.