Hong Kong Maritime Summit Highlights Collaborative Solutions Amid Global Trade Challenges

Closing remarks by STL at Hong Kong Global Maritime Trade Summit

​Following are the closing remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, at the Hong Kong Global Maritime Trade Summit today (November 17):

Mr Grimaldi (Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Mr Emanuele Grimaldi), your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, all the distinguished guests that have come to this summit today,

Good afternoon. As we bring this impactful Summit to a close, may I express my gladness seeing that our discussions in the past two days have powerfully demonstrated how our global maritime community is navigating shared challenges - from trade realignment and supply chain resilience to financing our industry’s future. These dialogues have been frank and collaborative, as to be seen from our closed-door session yesterday as well as today's sessions, reflecting our common goal and the spirit of partnership we all value. During the summit, we have heard a number of buzzwords: fragmentation, deglobalisation, protectionism, unpredictability, collaboration, partnership and most important of all - solutions.

Scene setting

In an era of volatility, isolation or unilateralism is certainly not the solution. It must be forged through partnership. The government's role is not to direct, but to enable - to build the fundamental and foundational backbone that allows the private sector to innovate, invest and thrive. This philosophy underpins our recent establishment in Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board (HKMPDB) under the able leadership of the Honourable Dr Moses Cheng (Chairman of the HKMPDB, Dr Moses Cheng Mo-chi), ensuring government and industry work as co-pilots in shaping our maritime future.

Guided by this principle and bolstered by our nation's strong support, Hong Kong adopts a clear dual strategy: reinforcing the resilience of our local maritime ecosystem, while expanding opportunities in the Chinese Mainland and in the rest of the world.

First, we are enhancing both our port competitiveness and world-class maritime services. Our port's efficiency remains a key advantage, with vessel-handling speeds nearly double the global average - earning us the "catch-up port" reputation. We are capitalising on this by establishing a comprehensive "rail-sea-land-river" intermodal system to extend our cargo hinterland into inland provinces of the Chinese Mainland. Meanwhile, we are not only driving digital and green transformation through launching a new Port Community System for real-time cargo tracking amongst all stakeholders, we are also working, with the port operators, toward reducing our Kwai Tsing Container Terminals' carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.

Complementing our port assets, we have an unparalleled cluster of over 1 200 shipping and maritime service companies, including the world's top ship managers, major protection and indemnity clubs and leading financers, as supported by one of the world’s largest fleets by gross tonnage flying the Hong Kong flag. To future-proof this leadership, we are streamlining our shipping registry procedures, enhancing tax incentives for the ship lessors and shipping commercial principals as well as introducing tax concessions for commodity traders, with legislative amendments coming right next year. Further, we will strengthen collaboration with international marine insurance organisations to upscale the training of marine insurance talents, whilst expanding the scope of the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund to cover more green energy courses, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong maritime strengths.

Secondly, we are proactively forging international partnerships to unlock new growth potential and solidify our role as a global "super connector". To counter protectionism, we are building partner port relationships with strategic ports in the Chinese Mainland and key Belt and Road regions for enhancing mutual competitiveness and resilience. Do expect our announcement of the first batch of our partner ports shortly later today. At the same time, central to this strategy is the Hong Kong Maritime Week itself, including the ICS World Trade Summit - our cornerstone platform for deepening international exchanges and collaboration. Every November, this gathering transforms our city into a vital nexus where global industry leaders converge to shape and drive positive changes for the future of the maritime trade. I am excited to share with you that we will be welcoming the Silk Road Maritime Association's summit one year from now during Hong Kong Maritime Week 2026, so stay tuned. This event and the week-long event will foster a strategic dialogue to unlock new opportunities in Belt and Road shipping for Hong Kong and the global community.

Despite the postponement in the IMO(International Maritime Organization)'s schedule, which we touched upon a lot during these two days, we, in Hong Kong remain steadfast in advancing our pace to strengthen and solidify Hong Kong's role as an international green maritime fuel bunkering and trading hub. Our prime location at the southern tip of China places us at the crossroads of international fairways, ideal for serving the global shipping community's bunkering needs. We rank seventh globally in shipping fuel bunkering, second in China and first in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since the first LNG (liquefied natural gas) bunkering operation in February this year, over 200 000 metric tonnes of biodiesel and LNG have been bunkered in Hong Kong, involving a total of 13 LNG bunkering operations. Having established biodiesel and LNG bunkering, we are pioneering the next-generation fuels - including methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen. We will commence feasibility studies for ammonia and hydrogen bunkering and mandate mass flow meters for methanol operations by next year. Further, leveraging our nation's green fuel supply advantages and Hong Kong's robust financial infrastructure, we are developing a global green maritime fuel trading centre, hosting various matchmaking events to catalyse supply chains and support our nation in reinforcing its leadership in this emerging sector.

The geopolitical landscape today affirms that the old rulebook is being rewritten. In this new chapter, Hong Kong's value proposition under "one country, two systems" becomes more relevant than ever after - offering a stable, sophisticated common law platform with a trusted legal framework, free flow of capital and information, as well as professional expertise that de-risks global trade. Hong Kong is here to serve and facilitate you to not just navigate today's challenges, but seize tomorrow's opportunities.

Ladies and gentlemen, while this Summit is about to conclude, I trust that the collaboration and dialogue will go on. As Hong Kong Maritime Week continues with other events, I look forward to welcoming you there.

Thank you to the ICS, our co-organisers, and all of you for your invaluable contributions. Congratulations to the ICS for, once again, hosting and staging such a successful summit this year. I wish you a productive remainder of your time in Hong Kong and enjoy the buzz and the nice weather outside of the Asia's World City. Thank you.

Closing remarks by STL at Hong Kong Global Maritime Trade Summit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Government announces updates on follow-up work on Tai Po fire

The three task forces set up by the Government for the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po - the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements - are making full efforts to follow up on the support, relief, and investigation work related to the incident. Details are as follows:

Financial and welfare support

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For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, established by the Government, donations received are about $3.4 billion as of noon today (December 13). With the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has now reached around $3.7 billion. The fund will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.

Accommodation support

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As of this morning, a total of 1 392 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps, or hotel rooms. Another 3 163 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS).

In consideration of the extremely urgent situation of the residents affected by the fire incident, a special arrangement of a full rent exemption has been made earlier by the Housing Bureau to provide accommodation support to those affected residents moving into transitional housing or HKHS projects. In other words, if needed, the affected residents can stay for a longer period of time. The Government will continue to support the affected residents in terms of accommodation, and the residents in need do not have to worry about the relevant rental expenses or the duration of stay.

In addition, staff from the operating organisations of transitional housing and HKHS, as well as volunteers have been working around the clock to furnish the units with essential supplies. Taking Eminence Tower in Hung Shui Kiu as an example, each unit is equipped, upon move-in, with furniture and appliances such as bed frames, mattresses, pillows, cooking stoves and water heaters. Daily necessities including toilet paper, slippers and basic cleaning supplies, etc. are also provided. Such efforts are intended to help the affected residents settle in as quickly as possible.

At the same time, a number of organisations have proactively stationed their staff in some projects to provide residents in need with various forms of support, including free medical and legal consultation services. The Government has also set up service stations in 18 projects where more residents have moved in, providing consultation and support services for residents in need, standing together with them.

Relief supplies and donations

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The supplies donation online platform, established by the Government and the information technology sector, continues to operate, facilitating the registration of supplies donations from organisations and the public. The Government has so far received over 1 800 registrations, of which approximately 30 per cent were submitted by organisations, whereas the others were contributed by the public. The various registered donation items include food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, bedding, and electrical appliances. The Government is actively assessing residents' actual needs through the relevant policy bureau, government departments, and service organisations for the matching of donated supplies in order to distribute appropriate items in phases to places in need. So far, about 19 600 donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. The matching and distribution of supplies will continue.

Regulation and inspection work

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The Housing Department today continued to remove the burnt scaffolding on the external walls of Wang Cheong House, Wang Tai House and Wang Sun House. As the environment at scene is narrow and the scaffolding and the protective nets of individual buildings may be subject to more serious damage, for the sake of safety, the Housing Department will conduct assessments with the Police on the timetable of removing the scaffolding of the remaining four affected buildings. In addition, the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau has also completed the extraction of concrete core samples from the seven affected buildings at Wang Fuk Court today.

The Development Bureau (DEVB) announced on December 11 a new mechanism for sampling and testing scaffold nets for external walls in Hong Kong. The Buildings Department is preparing for the issuance of a new practice note to registered contractors and will meet with the industry next week. The DEVB is moving ahead in full steam the supporting arrangements to ensure that there are sufficient designated laboratories and a suitable site for off-site sampling work.

Source: AI-found images