5 June, 2002 (Wednesday)

"Hong Kong, as an international maritime centre in Asia, offers a wide range of maritime services to meet the needs of world-class shipowners with distinct advantages and facilities," the Secretary for Economic Services, Ms Sandra Lee, said at the Posidonia 2002 International Shipping Exhibition in Piraeus, Greece today (4 June, Greek time).

Ms Lee, accompanied by the Chairman of the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board (PMB), Sir Gordon Wu, leads a Hong Kong delegation to Greece to participate in this biennial international shipping exhibition to promote Hong Kong as an international maritime centre and the best partner for shipping business in Asia.

Addressing Greek shipowners at a luncheon meeting, Ms Lee impressed upon the shipowners the various services provided in Hong Kong which generate a synergy to make Hong Kong a truly international maritime centre. She also updated them on the latest developments on maritime services and the excellent business opportunities in Hong Kong.

"There are some 1,000 shipping related companies operating in Hong Kong, providing a wide range of maritime services from ship registration, financing, P & I Clubs, marine insurance, ship broking, maritime arbitration, ship management, surveying, repair to ship replenishment," Ms Lee said.

"Moreover, Hong Kong offers the conducive business environment and facilities to facilitate the development of the shipping industry. These include a low tax regime, efficient banking services, excellent communications, modern infrastructures, a sound legal system, business-friendly policies, a clean and accountable civil service as well as a highly educated and skilled workforce," she said.

Ms Lee noted that over 6 % of the world's tonnage amounting to over 37 million gross tonnes are owned or controlled by Hong Kong shipowners/companies, making Hong Kong the world's sixth shipping centre.

Ms Lee also reassured the shipowners that Hong Kong is the ideal base to explore shipping opportunities in Asia and updated them on the attractiveness of the Hong Kong Shipping Register.

"The Hong Kong Shipping Register (HKSR) has continued to attract top quality tonnage, as evidenced by the growing gross tonnage in the last few years, from 6.3 million in 1999 to the present level of 14.5 million. We expect the Register to cross the 15 million mark by the end of this year," Ms Lee said.

"The success of the Hong Kong Shipping Register is attributed to a set of measures taken by the Government to enhance its competitiveness. Firstly, to minimise the economic burden of shipowners, we have reduced our registration and annual tonnage fee by 85 % and 45 % respectively," she continued.

"To make the HKSR more user-friendly, we provide a 24-hour hotline for enquiry of shipping-related matters and a one-stop-shop service for registration of vessels.

"On maintaining ships' quality, we provide free-of-charge Flat State Quality Control inspections by a team of well-qualified surveyors. The high quality of the Hong Kong fleet is reflected by its excellent port state inspections records," Ms Lee said.

Apart from the various measures introduced to the HKSR, Ms Lee noted that Hong Kong had also signed agreements for the avoidance of double taxation on shipping with seven major trading partners and a "preferential port dues" agreement with Mainland China to benefit shipowners and to reduce their tax burden.

These measures and taxation relief incentives, which were well received by the industry, further consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international maritime centre, Ms Lee added.

Echoing Ms Lee's remarks, Sir Gordon Wu pointed out that Hong Kong, with its good knowledge of and well-established ties with Mainland China as well as comprehensive shipping services, is the maritime communities' premier choice of maritime partner in Asia.

Sir Gordon said, "Hong Kong has been playing the crucial role of the middleman of Mainland China's foreign trade for decades. Traditionally, this role is focused on trading of goods. Hong Kong, with its efficient multi-modal links with the outside world, provides the main conduit for movement of cargoes into and out of Southern China, one of the largest manufacturing bases of the world."

"Building on the experience as the middleman of goods, Hong Kong has become a window of China's shipping industry. China has recently emerged as the major supplier of newbuildings and seafarers for the maritime world," Sir Gordon said.

Sir Gordon noted that the low labour cost and improved technology in Mainland China have contributed to the building of high quality ships at reduced costs. The Hong Kong shipping companies, with a good knowledge of Chinese ship building market, can advise shipowners to make cost-effective decisions on newbuildings.

"Being a populous nation, China has an abundant supply of manpower in many industries including seafaring. Over the years, Hong Kong shipping companies and the Hong Kong Shipowners Association have been actively involved in raising the crew training standards in China. Some shipping companies have also provided onboard training to cadets/trainees graduated from Chinese maritime education and training institutions. As a result, many ship management companies and crewing agencies in Hong Kong have extensive experience in engaging Chinese crews," he said.

The Hong Kong delegation will meet the Greek Minister of Mercantile Marine, Mr George Anomeritis, on 5 June (Greek time) to exchange views on maritime matters and to discuss how Hong Kong and Greece could have closer links on shipping issues.

Other members of the delegation include the Chairman of PMB's Shipping Committee, Mr Frank Tsao; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, Mr Koo Kou Hwa; the Chairman of the Shipping Registry Sub-Committee, Mr Liang Ming-hang; and Director of Marine, Mr Tsui Shung-yiu.

Hong Kong has set up a booth "Hong Kong Pavilion" in the Posidonia 2002 International Shipping Exhibition to showcase the various maritime services provided by the shipping industry. The "Hong Kong Pavilion" is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board, the Marine Department and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Participants of the Hong Kong Pavilion are China National Foreign Trade Transportation (Group) Corporation - SINOTRANS; Cosco (HK) Shipping Co. Ltd; Credit Agricole Indosuez; Eurasia Group of Companies; Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association Limited; Hong Kong Shipowners Association; Hong Kong Shippers' Council; HUD Group; IMC Holdings Ltd; Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd; River Trade Terminal Co. Ltd; South China Towing company Limited; Wallem Group Ltd; and Wayfoong Shipping Services.