Cab plates more precious than gold

The decrease in bank interest rates, urge to invest in commercial cabs. The fee to be paid for an official cab licence plate increased 80% since Dec.


       The price of licence plates for cabs have reached levels comparable to
       precious metals. The fee to be paid for a commercial licence plate to be
       used in city cabs have reached 80 billion liras. The increase in their price
       over the last few months since Dec. 1999, is at 80%. Prices of licence
       plates increase weekly, and are being traded for around 75 to 78 billion
       liras in Istanbul.

Tin worth more4 than gold

       These prices render cab plates more expensive than even gold. The money
       paid for the plates are exempt from taxes, and plate owners say the sale of
       the plates is so profitable that they have been able to cover last year's
       losses.
       Orhan Celik is a cab driver working in Istanbul for the last seven years. He
       gets 30 million a day for driving the cab around, but he says plate owners
       could profit up to 700 million a month.