Dubai. The car’s number plate P7 sold for a record 55 million dirhams (about Rs 1,22,61,44,700) at the auction of ‘Most Noble Numbers’ in Dubai.
Bidding started at 15 million dirhams in the auction held on Saturday night. Within seconds, the bidding crossed 30 million dirhams. At one point the bidding stopped for a while after reaching 35 million dirhams. The bid was made by French Emirati businessman Pavel Valerievich Durov, the founder and owner of the Telegram app.
Once again the bid increased rapidly to reach 55 million dirhams. The bid was placed by Panel Seven, who have expressed a desire to remain anonymous. The crowd applauded loudly on each bid.
Several other VIP number plates and phone numbers were also auctioned at the event, which took place at the Four Seasons hotel in Jumeirah. About 100 million dirhams ($27 million) were raised from the auction, which will be given to feed people during Ramadan. The auction of car plates and exclusive mobile numbers raised a total of 97.92 million dirhams.
The event was organized by Emirates Auction, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and telecommunications companies Etisalat and Du.
‘P7’ topped the list. In fact, many of the bidders wanted to beat the existing record set in 2008 when a businessman bid for Abu Dhabi’s number 1 plate for AED 52.22 million.
All the money from this auction will be handed over to the ‘One Billion Meals’ campaign which was established with the aim of combating global hunger. In keeping with the spirit of Ramadan, the donation was made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.(IANS)
read this also – Click to read the news of your state / city before the newspaper
