Sunday, 9 April 2000

A delegation of the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board (PMB) will be leaving Hong Kong tonight (April 9) for a four-day visit to Shanghai and Beijing. The delegation will be led by the Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Stephen Ip.

In Shanghai, the delegation will visit the Shanghai Harbour Bureau, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange and the Shanghai City Government to be briefed on the latest shipping and port developments of Shanghai. In Beijing, the delegation will meet with the Ministry of Communications, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation to discuss shipping and port development issues. The delegation will also meet several major shipping companies in China to discuss ways of enhancing co-operation between Hong Kong and the mainland shipping industries.

Mr Ip said, "The Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board paid its visit to Beijing 18 months ago. That visit had helped to promote the understanding between the shipping community of Hong Kong and the mainland. The purpose of this visit is for the PMB to further exchange views with the mainland maritime community on port and maritime matters, and to strengthen the co-operation with mainland authorities in areas such as maritime safety and port development. We will also take the opportunity to update the mainland authorities and the mainland shipping community on the measures we have taken to increase the competitiveness of the Hong Kong Shipping Register and other important developments on the maritime front."

The Chairman of the PMB Shipping Committee, Mr Frank Tsao, said, "We hope to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen the contact and exchanges between the Hong Kong and mainland shipping community on various shipping issues, such as manpower training and insurance."

Members of the PMB delegation include Chairman of the PMB Shipping Committee, Mr Frank Tsao; Chairman of the PMB Shipping Register Subcommittee, Mr Liang Ming-hang; Member of the Legislative Council, Mrs Miriam Lau; Chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council, Mr Willy Lin; Executive Vice-chairman and President of COSCO (Hong Kong) Group Ltd, Mr Dong Jiu-feng; the Director of Marine, Mr Tsui Shung-yiu; PMB Secretary, Mr Alex Fong; and PMB Senior Economist, Ms Reddy Ng.