IN the land where the dollar is king, not even love comes cheap.
As romantic hopefuls across the territory gear up for tomorrow's big day, a swift survey of price tags proves that Valentine's Day is perhaps not so much an affair of the heart as of the wallet.
First stop: the traditional favourite, a dozen red roses which, from Cupid's Florists, will set the buyer back $430.
Next: transport to whisk the happy couple off for a romantic evening. A top-of-the-range Mercedes with uniformed chauffeur from Avis can be ready and waiting for $1,440 for the minimum of four hours.
A candle-lit dinner for two? For five courses of haute cuisine with champagne and more flowers, where better than Gaddi's, the Peninsula Hotel's top in-house restaurant. But be ready, this will add another $1,880 to the evening's burgeoning bill.
And as for the piece de resistance of romance, the marriage proposal, you will need more than a bended knee. A top quality 0.30 carat sparkling diamond set in an 18 carat gold band from King's Jewellery will punch a whole in your pocket for another $6,500.
Finally, presuming everything has gone according to plan, the happy couple can disappear hand in hand into one of the Peninsula's luxury rooms.
They will be greeted by an equally luxurious $2,707 room charge the next morning. The grand total - a cool $12,957. That, as Bryan Ferry would argue, is the price of love.
Meanwhile, Dr Julian McAllister, sociology lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, carried out his own study of the phenomenon linked to Valentine's Day, a survey ''for fun'' of some of his students.
''The students ranked 'friendship', the belief that love is about companionship, above all else in their relationships,'' he said.
