A Thai businessman has paid a record 11 million baht (R2.67 milion) for a lucky and romantic licence plate at a government auction.
Prasakorn Sakonsattayathorn, whose family owns the five-star Sukhothai Hotel, submitted the winning bid at an auction on Saturday for the licence plate bearing the Thai letters “Yor Ying Yor Ying” and numbers “9999”.
Land department deputy director Asdasathai Rattanadilok Na Phuket, who directed the auction, said the 11 million was “the highest bid in history, costing more than the price of a car”.
He noted that “Yor Ying” stands for woman in Thai, so the bid may have been romantically motivated, as Valentine's Day falls on Tuesday. The number 9 is deemed lucky.
Asdasathai said the department expected to raise 150 million baht (R37 million) from the weekend's auction of special numper plates. - Sapa-dpa