Edward Liu says that only development strategies with a clear vision and direction that encompass foresight, depth and breadth can allow shipping to flourish again
The public consultation on the 2021 Policy Address, the last one of the current administration, started in early July. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in an earlier interview that she would outline Hong Kong’s future blueprint from a macro perspective as portrayed in the national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She categorically emphasized that the government must be visionary and planning for the future.
When reviewing the effectiveness and efficiency of her policies over the past four years, Lam said that of the over 900 tasks proposed in her previous policy addresses, there were only a few “defaulted debts”. Regarding the shipping industry, the special administrative region government has launched several initiatives in the past four years to develop high value-added maritime services, and the results were fruitful. However, the comprehensive plan for development of the shipping industry, as unveiled in the 2017 Policy Address, was invisible in the next few years. This is undoubtedly a “defaulted debt” to the great regret of the shipping sector. If a visionary and comprehensive plan can be reinstated by the SAR government in this year’s policy address, it will be vigorously welcomed by the shipping industry.
The 2021 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report, jointly published by Xinhua News Agency and the Baltic Exchange, has ranked Hong Kong as the fourth-best global shipping center again. The top three centers are Singapore, London and Shanghai. Among them, Singapore has topped the list since the report’s debut in 2014.
The report notes that the Singaporean government has played an important role in shaping Singapore into an international shipping center and has provided forward-looking planning guidance. Various incentive policies have created favorable conditions for attracting a large number of shipping resources. In the 2030 Strategic Review Report released by a committee established by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, it not only re-examined the “Surpassing London” framework that has been adopted since 2003, but also outlined a vision for Singapore to become a global maritime hub in terms of connectivity, innovation, and talent. The strategic direction of future development was then set based on the plan in order to maintain the continuous improvement of competitiveness.
Meanwhile, both Shanghai and London have also drawn up their maritime strategic blueprints, placing emphasis on the future development of maritime and port services.
The aforesaid examples solidly prove that in the process of constructing an international shipping center, the government’s leading role is crucial, while comprehensive and long-term planning through the industry as a whole is indispensable. This has nothing to do with whether the government concerned pursues a liberal economic policy or not.
In contrast, due to the lack of long-term planning in Hong Kong, the city’s global ranking as a shipping center has fallen from second in 2018 and 2019 to fourth in 2020 and 2021. What is as worrisome is that although the SAR government has been working hard to develop high value-added shipping services, according to the report, the performance of shipping services is also less than satisfactory. For example, Hong Kong only ranks eighth in terms of the number of shipping brokerage companies, not only lagging far behind London, Singapore and Shanghai but also Dubai, Houston and New York. In terms of maritime arbitration and legal services, Hong Kong only ranks fourth in terms of the number of arbitrators, while merely occupying the sixth rank in respect of the number of partners in maritime-related law firms.
While Hong Kong has surpassed Shanghai in terms of the number of ship management companies, the number of branches of top-100 container companies and bulk cargo companies are significantly outnumbered by Singapore’s and Shanghai’s, which is an important indicator for assessing the performance of maritime services. All of these facts lead to the conclusion that only development strategies with a clear vision and direction that encompass foresight, depth and breadth can allow Hong Kong’s shipping industry to flourish again.
According to the Greater Bay Area development plan, Hong Kong should consolidate and enhance its status as an international shipping center, and the national 14th Five-Year Plan also clearly supports Hong Kong’s promotion of its status as an international shipping center. At a recent seminar on the National Security Law for Hong Kong, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said that when the country achieves its second centennial goal in 2050, it is hoped that the Hong Kong economy will become more prosperous, and excel also in arenas other than international finance, shipping and trade. In other words, consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international shipping center is not just Hong Kong’s own business but also a matter of national development. It is safe to suggest that it is a political task rather than merely an economic one.
Some have said that the support of the central government is too general and there are no concrete details on implementation. This reflects the central government’s adherence to the “one country, two systems” principle. The specific plans on how to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international shipping center should be a matter for the SAR government to take charge of, to formulate policies and to carry out measures. Hong Kong can only seek tailored support from the central government, make good use of national policies, after we first decide what we want to achieve and how we want to shape the industry’s development and fortify Hong Kong’s status as an international shipping center. Of course, since the central government has expressed its support in writing in the highest-level official documents, it means that the SAR government can comfortably seek support from the central government when making decisions and implementing relevant policies and measures.
In any event, all-around development strategies for the shipping industry should be formulated by the SAR government first, without further ado.
The author is a practicing lawyer of an international law firm in Hong Kong, the principal representative of the International Chamber of Shipping (China) Liaison Office, and a co-opted member of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.