Egypt's most expensive licence plate reaches $1.6 million in auction

Two anonymous buyers chasing plate that Interior Ministry is selling online

Unusual licence plates can fetch big money in Egypt. Photo: Tamer Soliman

Bidding has reached 50 million Egyptian pounds ($1.6 million) for a car licence plate that is being sold by Egypt’s Interior Ministry in an online auction.

Two bidders are chasing the plate, which reads “555 M E R” in Arabic, on ministry platform Lo7tak, which sells plates bearing special or memorable numbers and letters to interested buyers.

The competing bids in the auction, which ends on Tuesday, make it the country's most expensive licence plate.

The platform, which keeps the identities of buyers anonymous, allows people to submit requests for customised licence plates.

The plate was one of the top trending topics on Egyptian social media channels on Sunday night, with posts wondering about the identity of the buyers, whether they are Egyptians and whether the money would be better spent feeding poor Egyptian families during Ramadan as the country contends with high inflation.

“I need 5,000 pounds to pay off my debts right now and people are bidding on a car licence plate,” Twitter user Anwar wrote on Sunday.

“They say Egypt is going through an economic crisis and a car licence plate costs 50 million pounds,” another Twitter user wrote.

Lo7tak auctions are directed by the Tahya Misr fund, the country’s largest social welfare fund, which also collects the proceeds.

Its auctions have brought in a total of 300 million Egyptian pounds since the platform's launch in 2017, the Interior Ministry said.

Previously, the most expensive car licence plate sold on the online auction platform for 4 million pounds in April 2022.