Hong Kong is crazy for license plates. They auction off combinations of letters & numbers, then owners can re-sell the plate to a higher bidder. A prior-issued plate "18" sold for $16.5 million in 2008.

Plates with the number "8" are especially prized, as it has reference to wealth.
That's why the $8 chips are done for Chinese new year.)

From a NY Times article:
"The record for Hong Kong was the plain number “18,” which fetched 16.5 million dollars in 2008..."