News: Saudis offer modest Egyptian a lot of money...find out WHY

Hisham Al-Beely is an Egyptian working in Riyadh who makes a modest SR4,000 a month. His earthly assets, again at modest levels, include a car worth a mere SR12,000. But he is worth a few millions and is pestered constantly on the roads. Puzzled?

Well, his car holds a treasure in the form of license plate. It carries the unique registration digits SSS-1, and people, read Saudis, are willing to part with SR3 million to possess it. And Al-Beely is not willing to let go of it because the 1998 model vehicle was given to him as a gift by a Saudi friend of 16 years. “I received it as a gift from a Saudi friend. Since the car number plate is distinct and unique, I am often stopped by Saudis, who ask me to sell my license plate. I was initially offered SR200,000 and this figure has since jumped to SR3 million,” he said.

He used the car for three years, but never expected that it would become a source of constant badgering. “I now keep the car parked at home and take a taxi to work to avoid being stopped all the time,” he said.

Many Saudis who are interested in buying unique number plates attend plate auctions in search of numbers like 8888, 9999, 9000, NNN-5 or ALB-6 (Arabic for heart). Others look for license plates that have three letters contained in their wives’ names.