A licence plate auction in Dubai on Sunday fetched about Dh30 million, the emirate's Roads and Transport Authority said.
It was the 109th public auction and was held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. The number AA90 fetched the highest amount of Dh2.7m.
Plate number M73 was sold for Dh2.36m while W55555 and X800 fetched Dh1.71m and Dh1.02m, respectively.
Plates on offer had two-, three-, four- and five-digit numbers, with the AA, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X and YZ codes.
A plate's value is determined by the emirate, series and number. Letters high up on the alphabet are usually worth more.
Certain letters such as O and W, which is pronounced in Arabic as “wow”, carry a prestige of their own.
The agency sold 100 plates and raised Dh36.5m at its previous auction on December 19, 2021.
Plate Z 31 was sold for Dh2.82m and V10000 for Dh920,000. W500 and O66666 each fetched Dh840,000.
Car number plates garner huge interest among motoring enthusiasts in the UAE. In 2016, Indian businessman Balwinder Sahni paid Dh33 million for plate D5, thought to be the world's most expensive sale.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
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