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The Hong Kong Port Development Council (PDC) and the Hong Kong Maritime
Industry Council (MIC), two separate non-statutory bodies, were established
in June to replace the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board following the
recommendation of the 'Study to Strengthen Hong Kong's Role as an International
Maritime Centre'. Chaired by the Secretary for Economic Development and
Labour, both the PDC and MIC are dedicated, high-level advisory bodies
for key players from the private sector and the Government to discuss
and coordinate matters in developing and promoting the port and maritime
industries.
In Hong Kong, all port facilities are financed, developed,
owned and operated by the private sector, a practice which few major international
ports in the world adopt. The Government's role is to undertake long-term
strategic planning for port facilities and to provide the necessary supporting
infrastructure, such as by building roads and dredging access channels
to the terminals.
The PDC advises the Government on the port development
strategy and port facility planning to meet future demands. It also assists
the Government in promoting Hong Kong as a regional hub port and a leading
container port in the world.
A Port Development Advisory Group was formed in September,
under the PDC, to assist the council in examining port cargo forecasts
and assessing port development needs in the light of changing demand,
port capacity, productivity, performance and competition both locally
and regionally.
Hong Kong has a successful shipping industry with
many well-known and experienced shipping-related companies. There are
some 900 shipping-related companies operating in Hong Kong, providing
a wide range of maritime services from ship owning/management, ship registration,
financing, insurance and ship broking to maritime arbitration, survey,
repairs, and ship replenishment.
The MIC advises the Government on the formulation
of measures and initiatives to further develop the maritime industry and
assists the Government in promoting the comprehensive maritime services
provided in Hong Kong. It also focuses on the promotion of Hong Kong as
an international maritime centre.
To further enhance Hong Kong's attractiveness as a
base for international maritime enterprises, the MIC has set up a Human
Resource Task Force to address the education, training and manpower supply
issue. A Maritime Services Task Force was also set up to formulate measures
to promote the various sectors in the maritime cluster.
The Hong Kong Shipping Register (HKSR) has gained
a reputation as a world-class and quality register with excellent services.
In order to further boost the quality standard and the reputation of the
HKSR, a pre-registration quality control system was launched in July.
Various improvement measures are also introduced regularly to heighten
efficiency and user-friendliness. As a result, the Register's gross tonnage
broke the 20-million mark in November, securing its position in the world's
top 10 shipping registers.
Moreover, to enhance the competitiveness of the shipping
industry, Hong Kong is proactive in negotiating double taxation relief
arrangements covering shipping income with its trading partners. In 2003,
Hong Kong signed Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) on shipping
income with Germany and Norway in January and October, respectively. Hong
Kong also signed a DTA on shipping and air services incomes with Singapore
in November. Together with similar arrangements with the Mainland, Belgium,
the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands as well as the
confirmed provisions of reciprocal tax exemption with the tax authorities
of New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong has made double taxation
relief arrangements covering shipping income with 10 tax administrations. |
