Maritime Seminar in Kuala Lumpur Explores Hong Kong-Malaysia Trade Opportunities

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta (HKETO Jakarta), in partnership with Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Shipping Association Malaysia (SAM), and with the support of the Singapore Regional Desk of the Hong Kong Shipping Registry (HKSR), organised a business seminar titled "Gateway to Asia: Maximising Maritime and Trade Potential betweenHong Kong and Malaysia" today (August 18) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event brought together over 150 industry leaders, regulators, stakeholders and experts to explore opportunities for Hong Kong and Malaysia to advance maritime trade, investment and sustainable development through strengthened regional co-operation.

Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Transport of Malaysia, the Chairman andmembers of SAM, and senior representatives from Hong Kong and Malaysia's maritime industry, underscoring the strong commitment to bilateral maritime collaboration.

In her opening remarks, the Director-General of the HKETO Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng, highlighted the robust maritime connections and complementary strengths shared between Hong Kong and Malaysia. She also emphasised Hong Kong's leading role as an international shipping and trade centre, citing the newly established Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board as well as the city's competitive advantages in maritime arbitration, investment and ship registration.

Miss Cheng said, "With over 2 200 vessels and more than 128 million gross tons, the Hong Kong Shipping Registry is one of the largest in the world. In addition, Hong Kong is a highly sophisticated financial centre which offers a wide range of investment and financing opportunities in ship leasing, marine insurance, port services, and maritime logistics, supported by favourable government policies such as tax incentives and free flow of capital."

Member of the Promotion and External Relations Committee of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board Mr Edward Liu delivered a keynote speech on "Driving Connectivity: Hong Kong as a Strategic Maritime Gateway for Malaysia", outlining the competitive edges of Hong Kong ports in terms of connectivity, infrastructure and use of technology. He also introduced the latest developments and opportunities in Hong Kong's maritime sector.

Other keynote speakers included the Regional Head (Singapore), HKSR, Marine Department, Captain Norman Ni; the Head of Transport, Logistics and Industrials of InvestHK, Mr Benjamin Wong; and the Chairman of the Promotion Sub-Committee of Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Group, Captain Lee Fook-choon. They briefed the audience on a broad spectrum of topics covering Hong Kong's role as an international maritime centre, shipping investment and opportunities, and maritime arbitration.

The seminar also featured a question-and-answer session, facilitating exchanges and enabling industry players to gain deeper insights into major trends in the global shipping market, and explore the potential for further collaborations between the two places.

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

HKETO Jakarta showcases Hong Kong's maritime strengths in Malaysia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Housing Bureau and Development Bureau accept Independent Investigation Report submitted by Architectural Services Department regarding construction malpractices at three Light Public Housing sites and impose punitive measures on Contractor, Structural Engineer, and Project Management Consultant involved

The Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) submitted the independent investigation report on the construction malpractices at the three Light Public Housing (LPH) sites at Lok On Pai in Siu Lam, Yan Po Road in Tuen Mun, and Sheung On Street in Chai Wan to the Housing Bureau (HB) and the Development Bureau (DEVB) on November 5, 2025. Upon a thorough review, both bureaux today (January 16) accepted the findings of the report and imposed punitive measures on the Contractor, Structural Engineer, and Project Management Consultant (PMC) involved. The ArchSD has also been tasked to continue its strict supervision on the Contractor and PMC in taking forward the remedial works expeditiously, alongside the immediate implementation of the improvement measures as set out in the report.

In light of the investigation results, the DEVB served notices today, in accordance with the regulatory mechanisms, to the companies involved about the following punitive measures to be imposed on them:

(1) The Contractor, i.e. Able Engineering Company Limited (Able), which is responsible for the construction and associated quality assurance: suspension of its eligibility to tender under all relevant categories of the List of Approved Contractors for Public Works and the List of Approved Suppliers of Materials and Specialist Contractors for Public Works for one year. As for Chun Wo Construction and Engineering Company Limited that formed the joint venture with Able, since its major involvement in the projects is to provide strategic advice on construction planning and has neither been involved in the site works nor supervision, it is not subject to the punitive measures;

(2) The Structural Engineer employed by the Contractor, i.e. C M Wong & Associates Limited, which is responsible for providing and managing the resident structural engineer involved: suspension of its eligibility to tender under all relevant categories of the List of Consultants of the Architectural and Associated Consultants Selection Board (AACSB) for one year; and

(3) The PMC employed by the ArchSD, i.e. Wong Tung & Partners Limited, which is responsible for providing project management and managing the resident site supervisors involved: suspension of its eligibility to tender under all relevant categories of the List of Consultants of AACSB for six months. The six-month suspension period was set with due consideration that not all of the project sites under its management were discovered with deficiencies in supervision.

Since the commencement of LPH construction, the ArchSD has always enforced strict quality supervision and proactive inspections, together with reviews on the performance of contractors. The prompt uncovering of malpractices at the three LPH sites during the ArchSD's proactive inspections was a direct reflection of the effectiveness of the supervision mechanism.

The HB has tasked the ArchSD to continue its stern supervision of the Contractor to take forward the remedial works and the remaining construction works and to closely monitor construction quality and progress. Under the premise of adhering to the original completion dates, every effort shall be made to ensure that all projects comply with the relevant safety requirements. As directed by the ArchSD, the Contractor has implemented a host of remedial measures at full speed since early November last year, including shifting and reinstalling the modules involved, and will bear all costs related to the remedial measures.

Moreover, on the works contract level, the ArchSD requested that the Contractor implement a series of remedial measures and bear all the related costs of the remedial works. In addition, should the remedial measures result in any delay in the contract completion dates, the Contractor will be liable for liquidated damages. Moreover, the ArchSD has required the Contractor to replace all site supervision personnel, including site agents, works supervisors, and resident structural engineers. The ArchSD has also concurrently required the PMC to replace all its resident site supervisors. Meanwhile, the ArchSD has immediately strengthened its supervision by deploying full-time government site supervision staff to monitor the sites and has arranged for its structural engineers to conduct additional on-site spot checks and audits to ensure strict quality control for the projects.

Based on preliminary evidence, Able is suspected of serious negligence or misconduct in the construction works. The ArchSD will inform the Building Authority to refer the case to the Registered Contractors' Disciplinary Board under Section 13 of the Buildings Ordinance. As provided in the Ordinance, if, upon hearing, negligence or misconduct in construction works were found to have been committed, the Board may order the removal of Able or its directors, senior personnel, or individuals from the relevant lists, impose fines, or issue a reprimand on Able or its directors, senior personnel, or individuals.

As the investigation revealed that the incident may involve criminal acts of providing false statements, the ArchSD has already reported the case to the Police.

The Government will continue to follow up on the case in a serious manner and step up its site supervision efforts to ensure the overall construction quality, safety and progress are not affected, as well as to ensure each LPH project is completed with high quality and high safety standards, thereby providing decent homes for residents in need as soon as possible.

Source: AI-found images