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The Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport), Mr Francis Ho, today (November 29) officiated at the opening of the Hong Kong Pavilion at Marintec China 2011, a biennial international shipping and maritime trade fair being held in Shanghai from today until Friday (December 2).
The Hong Kong Pavilion was set up by the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council (MIC) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Marine Department.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Ho said that to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's position as an international shipping centre, Hong Kong would not simply compete on the volume of cargo throughput but would strive to excel in the provision of high-quality maritime services such as shipping registration, ship brokerage, ship management, marine insurance, ship finance, maritime law and arbitration.
"We are already moving in that direction. It is noteworthy that some 43 per cent of arbitration cases handled by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre in 2010 were related to shipping, a jump of seven percentage points as compared with 2009," Mr Ho said.
Apart from showcasing some of the shore-based maritime services mentioned above, the Hong Kong Pavilion is also displaying information on shipboard services available in the territory, such as weather routing, communications and supply of equipment.
There are more than 1,650 exhibiting companies and 18 national and regional pavilions at Marintec China 2011.
An eight-person delegation of MIC members and government officials attended the Hong Kong Pavilion opening ceremony as well as the grand opening of the event, at which Mr Ho was one of the officiating guests.
The Hong Kong delegation will take the opportunity to visit the Shanghai Pudong International Shipping Service Centre before returning to Hong Kong this evening.
Ends/Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:39
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