Opening remarks by USTL at promotional seminar “An insider’s level of view of synergy between Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates

     Following are the opening remarks by the Below Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, at a promotional seminar, “An insider’s level of view of synergy between Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates – the 2 world maritime and logistics powerhouses”, in Dubai this day (December 11, Dubai time):

Your Excellency, accepted company, ladies and gents,

     Correct morning and greetings from Hong Kong. It affords me mountainous pleasure to fulfill you all right here this day in Dubai.

     Dubai will seemingly be called the “city of superlatives”, and its busiest port and airport in the Heart East and consequently the set apart’s most accepted maritime and logistics hubs moreover count as such superlatives. Certainly, love the skyscrapers that town is so notorious for, Dubai’s maritime, aviation and logistics products and companies too are great new heights as its strategic location on the crossroads of East and West makes it a natural middleman for change and logistics among Asia, Europe and Africa.

     Curiously, the the same can even be acknowledged of Hong Kong, which has long been a global maritime, aviation and logistics hub, attributable to our improbable global transport connectivity, proximity to the corpulent manufacturing execrable and shopper market in Mainland China and sturdy financial and lawful systems, accurate to name a couple of. Firms from advance and much have capitalised on Hong Kong’s queer strengths and helped to set apart our city firmly on the worldwide contrivance of change and logistics, and I am overjoyed to advise that such shrewd investors comprise main companies from the UAE (United Arab Emirates) akin to Aramex and DP World.

     Co-operation between Hong Kong and Dubai goes system again, and tons change leaders from Hong Kong’s maritime and logistics sectors who’re right here in Dubai with me this day are no strangers to doing change with the UAE. Then again, amid the shifting geopolitical landscape, the sustained economic upward push of East Asia and adjustments in global logistics in the submit-pandemic era, in particular the explosive growth of e-commerce, co-operation among globally competitive logistics hubs with broad maritime and aviation networks and setting friendly cargo handling capabilities is increasingly extra valuable. Right here’s why deepening ties between Hong Kong and Dubai makes sense now bigger than ever.

     Certainly, I am overjoyed that Hong Kong is the UAE’s handiest maritime, aviation and logistics partner in Asia, no longer accurate thanks to our unbelievable geographical location but moreover our forward-having a seek for policies that are place to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s hub repute.

     On the maritime entrance, we’re dedicated to boosting the competitiveness of our Hong Kong Port, which is repeatedly ranked as one of many realm’s busiest and most setting friendly, welcoming over 300 container vessels every week travelling to with regards to 500 locations worldwide. We, Hong Kong, have promulgated three action plans to further enhance our maritime, port and logistics industries all via the previous two years. First, in the Motion Belief on Maritime and Port Pattern Plot, we set apart ourselves as a accepted regional transshipment hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Elevated Bay Predicament, which consists of 9 cities and two special administrative areas in conjunction with Hong Kong and has a population of 86 million, positioned in the southern share of China. And we relief our port operators to faucet into the alive to transshipment inquire in the condominium, as rising economic vibrancy spurs ever busier merchandise change. We’re moreover exploring to further exempt the licensing requirement clearly managed cargoes, bringing even extra transshipment comfort to China and Asia change via our port.

     Furthermore all via the scope of this Motion Belief is to enhance our active maritime products and companies cluster, which has attach among the realm’s prime four shipping centres in the 2024 Xinhua-Baltic: International Transport Centre Pattern Index Myth. Our 1 100-company sturdy maritime products and companies cluster affords numerous shipping and maritime change products and companies, starting from ship proudly owning, ship agency and administration, ship broking, marine insurance coverage and maritime lawful and arbitration products and companies. This would possibly per chance seemingly per chance also merely gain a enhance via enhancement on preferential tax regime, on prime of the half-rate earnings tax concessions to ship agents, ship managers and ship brokers we launched two years in the past, and can merely nonetheless translate to even bigger products and companies tailored to your global want. The dear aspects of the brand new tax regime, in conjunction with new tax deduction arrangements for ship lessors pursuant to global tax suggestions, will be printed in the predominant half of 2025, and we can open the relevant legislative work thereafter.

     Maritime decarbonisation is a rising model, and discovering a green port with green maritime gas bunkering products and companies is now no longer accurate an chance but a necessity for the maritime sector worldwide. And in East Asia, Hong Kong is the fairway port to be, because the Motion Belief on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering we announced final month puts us on the path of rising into the most most smartly-appreciated green maritime gas bunkering and trading centre in the set apart. With LNG (liquefied natural gas) and green methanol bunkers soon to be on offer at our port and over 200 000 tonnes of green maritime fuels anticipated to be bunkered by 2030, Hong Kong is handiest positioned to aid the UAE’s shippers and shipping companies to fulfill their green shipping targets.

     On the logistics entrance, our repute as dwelling to the realm’s busiest cargo airport precedes us, and our seamless connectivity with Mainland China makes us the natural logistics gateway to the corpulent Chinese language market. Then again, our strengths in logistics carry out no longer end there. Truly, our sturdy capabilities in handling excessive-worth goods are our winning edges, as is evidenced by the corpulent majority of the COVID-19 vaccines destined for Asia being handled by Hong Kong International Airport all via the pandemic, as smartly because the sweet cherries glossy off Chilean fruit farms reaching our port at this very moment and soon being attach into our direct-of-the-artwork cool storage facilities, waiting to be shipped onwards to Mainland China and other Asian locations.

     Our mission is to discover the instructions we place out in the Motion Belief on In model Logistics Pattern promulgated final 300 and sixty five days and create our logistics sector even smarter and greener that will meet evolving global ESG (environmental, social and executive) requirements and, extra importantly, your logistics inquire efficiently.

     One final facet in our maritime and logistics model coverage is global co-operation. For 2 industries that are intrinsically global in nature, Hong Kong needs to forge partnerships with loads of countries, precise to our global persona. Right here’s why I am concerned about this seminar and the networking lunch that follows, which I hope will give our chums from the UAE a glossy seek for at maritime and logistics alternatives in Hong Kong and an opportunity to search out collaboration with our seasoned change leaders, moderately a ramification of whom signify main maritime and logistics change associations in Hong Kong.

     Indirectly, would possibly per chance per chance per chance also merely I particular my gratitude to the Emirates Transport Affiliation for organising this seminar and luncheon this day with us. Thank you, and I seek for forward to the fruitful and insightful discussions in a while.

Ends/Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Issued at HKT 19:44

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