Speech by SITI at LSCM Logistics Summit 2024
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the LSCM Logistics Summit 2024 today (October 10):
萬部長 (Deputy Director-General of the YouthDepartment of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ms Wan Ning), 謝書記 (Deputy Secretary of the CPC Working Committee of Nansha Development Zone, Guangzhou Mr Xie Wei), Alan (Chairman of the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM), Professor Alan Lam), Simon (Chief Executive Officer of the LSCM, Mr Simon Wong), distinguished speakers and guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to join you today again at the LSCM Logistics Summit, the annual signature event that brings together industry experts, business leaders, and academics to exchange ideas on the latest developments in innovation and technology (I&T) and to promote technology adoption.
In recent years, we have witnessed remarkable advancements in I&T that have accelerated our efforts in building a smart city and bolstering the digital economy. This Summit, themed "The New Era of Digitalisation: From Smart City to Digital Economy", represents a much-welcome opportunity to explore how the evolving technologies are shaping and digitalising Hong Kong and the entire Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Promoting digital economy and smart city development in Hong Kong is one of our major strategic directions as set out in the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint promulgated in late 2022. Smart Mobility and Smart Living are also key areas in smart city development. Paying heed to these strategies and priorities, the Government works closely with our key stakeholders such as the LSCM to collaborate on the I&T adventure.
The LSCM is an active partner in our endeavours on smart city development. It participates in a number of pilots and proofs-of-concept involving government bureaux and departments. A notable example is the development of the Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks. The kiosks currently support around 70 public services from the Government, covering tax, company registration, property and vehicle, among others. Setting up in various GBA Mainland cities such as Zhuhai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, these kiosks facilitate access to Hong Kong's public services for residents and enterprises in the GBA Mainland cities, doing away with the need for in-person visits and providing significant convenience.
The LSCM's efforts have gained wide recognition both locally and internationally, as evident by the eight awards they received at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva in April this year, including the self-service kiosk I shared just now. Other award-winning solutions cover a broad range of technologies such as satellite signal monitoring and Internet of things.
All these demonstrate the strong capability and creativity of theLSCM, and represent a testimony to Hong Kong's strengths and commitment to turning our vision of becoming an international I&T centre into reality.
I am excited to learn that theLSCM will expand its collaboration networks by signing three MOUs with three leading research institutes from Mainland China respectively covering different fields of information technology such as software and container logistics. I am confident that these collaborations will inject new impetus into the LSCM's work to generate more breakthroughs in the areas of smart city-related solutions.
Ladies and gentlemen, the development of a smart city will remain a priority of the Government. Collaboration will be the key. We will continue to join hands with our partners in the public and private sectors to push forward the smart city development of Hong Kong.
Before I close, I wish you all a rewarding experience at the LSCM Summit 2024. Thank you very much.
Speech by SITI at LSCM Logistics Summit 2024 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government implements multiple measures to promote smart, green and modern logistics development
The Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) announced today (January 16) the implementation of various measures, including the formal rollout of the Port Community System (PCS) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Data Collection Tools, as well as the release of the findings of the planning study on the development of a modern logistics cluster in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (HSK/HT NDA), with a view to promoting the smart, green, sustainable and modern development of Hong Kong's logistics industry through a multipronged approach.
The Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), Photo by Bastille Post
The Secretary of Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, said, "Our country has long been providing solid backing for Hong Kong's maritime development. The Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) recently promulgated have clearly stated the objective of consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international maritime centre. The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area also mentioned the active implementation of various measures to promote Hong Kong's maritime development. Since the Action Plan on the Modern Logistics Development (the Action Plan) has been promulgated for two years, with the full co-operation of the industry, we have completely implemented all action measures and been leading the Hong Kong logistics industry's transition towards high technology adoption and sustainable growth, thereby enhancing the industry's international competitiveness. We will continue to follow the guidance of the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th FYP, leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world to maintain our position as the region's leading international logistics hub, thereby better integrating into and serving the overall national development."
The logistics industry is one of the pillar industries of Hong Kong. To promote the sustainable and high-quality development of the industry, the Government promulgated the Action Plan in 2023, which formulated eight strategies and 24 action measures to assist the industry in embracing the new era of smart, green and modern logistics. Apart from a number of subsidy schemes to assist the industry in upgrading their operations by adopting smart and green logistics solutions and taking relevant training courses, as well as release land parcels to meet the industry's demand for premium logistics sites in the short to medium term, the Government is also working at full steam to build the new image of modern logistics as "smart, innovative, high-end" and reach out to young people on campus through the Curriculum on Logistics Industry and internship scheme, among others in order to attract young people to join the industry. Externally, on one hand, we commenced logistics co-operation with Guangxi, Chongqing and Chengdu with a view to exploring new cargo sources for Hong Kong. On the other hand, we enhanced overseas promotions to explore business opportunities together with the industry in Belt and Road countries.
PCS
In terms of smart logistics, the PCS, a critical digital infrastructure developed by the Government with over $200 million in funding, was formally rolled out today. It marks a significant milestone for the digital transformation of Hong Kong's port and logistics development.
The system provides one-stop, round-the-clock, real-time cargo tracking and links up sea, land, and air transport networks, thereby holistically enhancing the transparency, efficiency and interconnectivity of the logistics chain. Apart from its core function of real-time cargo tracking, the system will also offer value-added electronic services such as the "One-Data-Multiple-Declarations" function. By facilitating cargo import and export declarations by the industry, the system will provide one-stop services for local logistics and trading companies, thereby supporting the upgrading of the industry.
At today's PCS rollout ceremony, the TLB also signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre and a local logistics start-up company, FUNDel, to accelerate the connection between the PCS and data platforms of the logistics industry, as well as study the utilisation of the trusted cargo flow data on the PCS to help financial institutions assess trade finance applications filed by relevant logistics small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), thereby supporting the sustainable development of the logistics industry.
Findings of the planning study on the development of Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen modern logistics cluster
The findings of the planning study on the development of a modern logistics cluster in the HSK/HT NDA were also announced today. To address the industry's long-term demand for logistics sites, the Government proposed to develop modern logistics clusters in the HSK/HT NDA. The relevant planning study commenced in March 2024 and was completed at the end of 2025.
After conducting a comprehensive consultation with the trade and considering comments from various stakeholders, the study suggests that the logistics cluster should adopt three major development directions, namely be "enterprise-oriented", have a "market-enabling environment" and an "innovative approach to drive industry development". It also suggests measures such as providing tailor-made entry terms for anchor enterprises and increasing the flexibility of development modes, with a view to ensuring the development of the logistics cluster meets the trends and demands of the market.
The TLB plans to invite the industry to submit expressions of interest for the first logistics cluster site this year, and will draw up the relevant land lease terms and development mode after taking into account the intents of the industry to ensure that they keep pace with industry's development needs.
The Study Report has been uploaded to the website of the planning study on the development of a modern logistics cluster in HSK/HT NDA (www.lc-hskht.hk).
ESG Data Collection Tools
ESG is a new international development trend for the logistics trade. Further to the Government's announcement of the Roadmap for ESG Development for Logistics Industry in June 2025 which has outlined a clear way forward for adopting ESG by logistics SMEs, the TLB today further released a set of ESG Data Collection Tools (the Toolkit) tailored for logistics SMEs, with a view to assisting them in taking the first step towards putting ESG into practice.
The Toolkit includes a user-friendly data collection template, a data dictionary and a user manual. It aims to equip SMEs with the ability to collect and record ESG data early and use the collected data to prepare ESG data reports that fulfil international ESG disclosure requirements. In the long run, logistics SMEs may even utilise the data for reviewing and improving their ESG performance, thereby helping to build up Hong Kong logistics industry's sustainability credentials and enhance its competitiveness. Interested companies may register at the ESG Resource Centre on the website of Hong Kong Logistics Development Council (www.logisticshk.gov.hk/en/ESG/ESG_collection.php) to obtain the Toolkit for free.
The TLB will continue to closely liaise and co-operate with the industry, and further consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international logistics hub through various policies and measures. The Government will also ensure that the logistics industry will maintain its edge in the international market and drive the development of trading and maritime industries at the same time by seizing the enormous opportunities brought by national and regional development, thereby promoting the high-quality development of Hong Kong's economy.
The future development of a modern logistics cluster in Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (HSK/HT NDA), Photo source: the official website of the Lands Department
