Hong Kong shipowners will be exempted from paying double tax levied on cargo loaded in the United Kingdom or the Netherlands from April 2002 under the agreements for the avoidance of double taxation (DTA) on shipping income with the two countries.

The agreements are not only beneficial to Hong Kong shipowners but also their counterparts in the UK and the Netherlands as shipowners in these two countries will also be exempted to  pay  double   tax  on

their income derived from international shipping business.

At present, Hong Kong shipowners enjoy double taxation relief on shipping income in Mainland China, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United States. The latest two additions further strengthen Hong Kong's status as the international maritime centre.

Hong Kong signed the DTA with the UK and the Netherlands in October 2000 and November 2000 respectively.  The provisions

of the DTA with the Netherlands will not only take effect from April 2002 in Hong Kong but also take retrospective effect to April 1998 upon the request of an enterprise.

Hong Kong has also initialled similar agreements with Singapore, Germany and India and is discussing with about 19 tax administrations arrangements for the avoidance of double taxation that will similarly benefit Hong Kong shipowners.

The Administration has recently completed the fourth Port Development Strategy Review (PDSR) to assess the future demand for port facilities for Hong Kong and the strategy for their provision.

The review was conducted based on the projections of the Port Cargo Forecasts (PCF) 2000/01 which revealed the cargo growth expected in Hong Kong for the coming 20 years.

The port policy of Hong Kong is to ensure a realistic planning of port-related infrastructure and a timely provision of port facilities to handle Hong Kong's forecast cargo throughput. The PDSR found that the  future development

of the port and maritime sector should form part of the strategy to develop and promote Hong Kong as the preferred international and regional trade, transportation and logistics hub and a base for integrating service providers for the global and regional demand and supply chain.

As market conditions are changing fast and timely knowledge of market condition is critical to successful port planning, the PDSR and the PCF will be updated every two years instead of three to help keep closer track of changes in the market.

On the provision of port  facilities

in the near future, the review recommended that new container terminal facilities will not be required until towards the end of this decade and new river trade facilities will not be required until the next decade. It also concluded that new mid-stream facilities will not be required in the near future and no additional Public Cargo Working Areas will be introduced except for the re-provisioning of displaced facilities.

The review also suggested Hong Kong should find ways to maximize the productivity of the Kwai Chung Container port facilities. A task force therefore has been set up under PMB to develop measures to  enhance  the

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