Thursday, 17 June 1999

PMB Promotes HK as International Shipping Centre

The Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board (PMB) is committed to promoting Hong Kong as an international shipping centre and creating jobs for Hong Kong people.

In the foreword of the newly published 1998 PMB Reports, the Chairman of the Board, Mr Peter Thompson, said, "In the year ahead, the Board's priority will be to build on the excellent supporting services available to shipowners in Hong Kong, such as finance, insurance, telecommunications, maritime law and arbitration services, and ship management to attract more Mainland and overseas shipping companies to set up operations in Hong Kong."

"This will help Hong Kong's economic development and create jobs for Hong Kong people," he added.

Mr Thompson noted that 1998 was an important year for the Board. In June its name was changed from the Port Development Board to the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board to underline its new responsibility for promoting Hong Kong's shipping industry and Hong Kong as an international shipping centre.

The Board was reorganised to include well known shipowners and others experienced in the local and international shipping industry. Experts in shipping related industries were also co-opted to the various committees and sub-committees established under the Board to help identify the strengths and needs of Hong Kong and decide what action needs to be taken to promote Hong Kong as an international maritime centre.

Special task groups were set up to look into different aspects of maritime commerce such as the shipping register, ship financing, management, marine insurance and arbitration.

Mr Thompson said, "As an important first step, we put forward a set of proposals to make the Hong Kong Shipping Register more competitive in order to accelerate the growth of Hong Kong tonnage. I am pleased that these proposals were quickly accepted by the Government and implemented."

Improvements introduced to make the Hong Kong Shipping Register more convenient and attractive to both local and overseas shipowners included reduced fees and a simplified but still rigorous survey cycle that would again lower costs whilst maintaining Hong Kong's reputation as a quality register.

Mr Thompson said, "These measures have been well received by the local and overseas shipping industry. Since they were announced in the Budget by the Financial Secretary, ten ships of 240,000 gross registered tonnes have been registered in Hong Kong, boosting our registered tonnage to 6.5 million. In addition, we have received serious expressions of interest from many shipowners in putting their ships under the Hong Kong Shipping Register. The Marine Department is discussing with these owners."

He said, "On the shipping side, our immediate priority is to step up publicity and attract more shipping and shipping related companies to Hong Kong. Earlier this year, we conducted a number of seminars and briefings for shipowners and ship management companies in Hong Kong. In September, we will be taking the message to the US and Europe."

"1998 was also a memorable year for the port of Hong Kong: Hong Kong was voted the Best Seaport in Asia by readers of Cargonews Asia. This is well deserved and rewards the hard work and effectiveness of the Hong Kong Marine Department and other service providers in our port. In the coming year, the Board's priority is to co-ordinate with the industry and identify measures to increase the competitiveness of our container terminals and maintain our hub port position in the region," Mr Thompson concluded.