The strong winds that have accompanied the typhoons in recent weeks have, we gather, been a source of some concern to the owners of expensive trees.
Francis Lui Yiu-tung, deputy chairman of Galaxy Entertainment revealed recently that in the wake of Typhoon Vicente, he felt compelled to call Hotel Okura Macau at the Galaxy Resort to check on the condition of the highly expensive Kusamaki tree located outside the hotel's lobby.
Despite Vicente's winds of up to 180km/h, which uprooted numerous tees in Hong Kong and Macau, the Okura's Kusamaki tree survived the onslaught. This is just as well since Lui was coy about how much it cost saying only that it was in the seven digits.
The tree is between 80 and 100 years old and was brought from Japan and transported to the mainland where it grew for years before it was sold to Galaxy.
We know the tree's history because it comes with a certificate testifying to its purity. The tree is valued in Japan for its high quality wood and is used to build houses as it is resistant to termites and water.
In Hong Kong, the Kusamaki is regarded as a fung shui tree which explains why this one sits outside a hotel at a casino.