Agarwood's sweet smell of success

Betting on a slower tree

In 2020, Hang Yong cut down 23,000 profitable areca palms. At the time, areca prices were at an all-time high, and the trees could generate nearly 10 million yuan annually.

"Nobody understood," Hang said. "Even today, many people still don't understand."

Hang had no background in agarwood. Originally from the northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region, he worked in telecommunications before starting his own company.