Global Strategy and High-end Support - All in Hong Kong

November 22, 2025

Over the past week, while my team and I have been proactively engaging in the mobilisation and publicity work for the Legislative Council General Election, Hong Kong Maritime Week (HKMW) 2025 has also been in full swing. The event attracted a record-high number of participants, with over 18 000 industry players from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas, participating in more than 50 industry and public events. We seized every opportunity during HKMW to promote Hong Kong’s comprehensive support services for sectors such as shipping infrastructure, green maritime fuel bunkering, financial capital management and legal services to audiences from around the world. Hong Kong serves as a one-stop, high-end maritime services marketplace, offering a dazzling array of professional services right at your fingertips. As policymakers, we are also rolling up our sleeves to promote the refinement of the legislative framework and tax concessions, providing the most suitable environment for the growth of the maritime and port ecosystem.

ICS returns to Hong Kong and last piece of puzzle in marine insurance

Prelude of this year’s HKMW was the 2nd Global Maritime Trade Summit, organised by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). Established in 1921, the ICS comprises the world’s major shipowners’ associations and over 80 per cent of commercial fleet. In 2019, it established its first Asia liaison office in Hong Kong, marking its inaugural office outside its London headquarters. The ICS’s return to host the Summit in Hong Kong once again demonstrates its trust and support for Hong Kong as an international shipping centre.

Organised by the International Chamber of Shipping, the 2nd Global Maritime Trade Summit kicked off Hong Kong Maritime Week 2025.

Marine insurance is a crucial segment in maritime services. 11 out of 12 protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs are providing services in Hong Kong. The China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association, being the only international P&I club in Chinese Mainland and the largest one in Asia, serves major renowned domestic and international shipping and financial leasing companies, and it stands as another giant in the marine insurance industry. It was extremely meaningful that during the opening ceremony of HKMW and World Maritime Merchants Forum, the Hong Kong Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association was inaugurated. The inauguration ceremony was witnessed by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and guests including Vice-Chairman of National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Mr C Y Leung; the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhou Ji; Vice Minister of Transport Mr Fu Xuyin; and the Chairman of China Merchants Group, Mr Miao Jianmin. The establishment of this first Hong Kong-headquartered shipowners’ mutual assurance association leverages our strengths to serve our country’s needs, completing the final piece of the puzzle for Hong Kong to become a globally significant centre for marine P&I insurance.

During HKMW, I met with the President of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), Mr Frédéric Denèfle, and the Secretary General of the IUMI, Mr Lars Lange. I was also pleased that the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the IUMI on talent training for the marine insurance industry, which enhances the industry’s alignment with international standards and further elevates Hong Kong’s international status in the high value-added maritime services sector.

The inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association

I met with the President of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), Mr Frédéric Denèfle (third right), and the Secretary General of the IUMI, Mr Lars Lange (second right). The Chairman of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board, Dr Moses Cheng (third left); the Commissioner for Maritime and Port Development and Deputy Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Miss Amy Chan (second left); the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI), Ms Selina Lau (first right); and the Deputy Chairman of the Marine Insurance Association of the HKFI, Mr Timothy Lee (first left), also attended.

Apart from marine insurance, Hong Kong’s maritime services ecosystem is highly vibrant, bringing together around 1 200 port and shipping related maritime service companies that provide high value‑added maritime services such as ship brokerage, ship management, financing and leasing, maritime law and arbitration. Hong Kong is one of the four major maritime arbitration venues in the world recognised by the Baltic and International Maritime Council. Among the world’s top ten ship management companies, five operate here and three have even established their headquarters in Hong Kong. Of the global top ten bookrunners for marine finance loans, eight are based in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s initial public offering (IPO) market is thriving, having raised over HK$240 billion so far this year, placing it first among global exchanges. Last year, the size of the green and sustainable debt market surpassed US$84 billion, and bond issuance accounted for 45 per cent of the regional market, clearly demonstrating the abundance of Hong Kong’s capital pool.

Fostering friendships – establishing partner ports with distinctive strengths

Maritime trade, characterised by its extensive connectivity, is particularly sensitive to geopolitical tensions and the reshaping of the international order. Officiating at the flagship event of HKMW—the Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference, the Chief Executive unveiled Hong Kong’s first batch of “partner ports.” These ports have strategic significance in their co-operation with Hong Kong. Connecting our networks enhances mutual competitiveness and resilience, thereby offering more options for the development of each partner’s shipping industry.

The three “partner ports” each excels in distinct areas with unique features. Chile’s Port of San Antonio launches “Cherry Express” direct services to Hong Kong every year-end, transporting large volumes of Chilean cherries for seamless transshipment through Hong Kong to the Mainland—an example of our long‑standing, close co-operation in high‑value cold chain logistics. Guangxi is an important node in the establishment of our “rail–sea–land–river” intermodal transport system. Through the Hong Kong–Guangxi daily liner service, Hong Kong’s port is linked with the Western New Land-Sea Corridor, a key national strategic initiative, enabling Hong Kong’s port to further expand its inland cargo hinterland. Dalian is a major fuel transport hub in northern Chinese Mainland. Collaboration between Hong Kong and Dalian will allow green maritime fuels produced on the Chinese Mainland to be transported via Dalian to Hong Kong and exported overseas through Hong Kong’s international trading platform, consolidating Hong Kong’s position as a green maritime fuel bunkering and trading centre. I believe these distinctive partners can serve as models. We will continue exploring room for co-operation with major ports both within and outside Chinese Mainland, working together to advance the development of the international maritime industry. In addition to the “partner ports,” port operators in Hong Kong also signed two MOUs during HKMW with the New Land-Sea Corridor Operation Co Ltd and Guangxi Beibu Gulf, with an aim to launch a premium sea–rail transshipment service linking Sichuan, Chongqing, Guangxi and Hong Kong, further expanding and strengthening the “rail–sea–land–river” intermodal transport system, as well as enabling the flow and sharing of sea-rail transshipment cargo data between ports in Hong Kong and Guangxi.

Hong Kong may have started later than neighbouring regions in green maritime fuel bunkering, but our determination to develop Hong Kong into a green maritime fuel bunkering and trading centre enables us to leapfrog ahead. To date, we have bunkered nearly 200 000 tonnes of green fuel and conducted 13 liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operations. We promulgated the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering last November, providing the trade with a clear direction on the Government’s future planning and to follow. This year, we amended the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance to provide duty exemption for methyl alcohol (MA) used as fuel of an outbound vessel, preparing for the imminent MA bunkering. During HKMW, International Bunker Industry Association held its first annual convention in Hong Kong, bringing together bunkering industry representatives from around the world to discuss the latest industry developments in green maritime fuel. We also announced the establishment of the Green Maritime Fuel Development Communication Platform to facilitate communication and collaboration among industry stakeholders, thereby catalysing the development of a green maritime fuel bunkering supply chain. Currently, 25 companies and industry organisations have joined the Communication Platform.

The Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, witnessed Hong Kong’s third LNG bunkering with simultaneous cargo operation at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals last week.

Hong Kong Maritime Week offered the global maritime industry an opportunity to forge new connections, and I also hosted many industry friends from various regions. I met with representatives from many leading global shipping companies, including Maersk, Pacific Basin Shipping and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, to discuss the evolving landscape of the shipping industry, decarbonisation measures and global economic trends, among other topics. I am very grateful to Vice Minister of Transport Mr Fu Xuyin; the State Secretary for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway, Even Tronstad Sagebakken; and the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works of Malta, Chris Bonett, for attending the events of Hong Kong Maritime Week. We seized this rare opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest.

I am very grateful to Vice Minister of Transport Mr Fu Xuyin (right) for attending Hong Kong Maritime Week to support our work in person.

I also met with the State Secretary for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries of Norway, Even Tronstad Sagebakken, to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works of Malta, Chris Bonett (right), also attended this year’s Hong Kong Maritime Week, and exchanged views with me and the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan (left).

I also met with the CEO of Maersk, Mr Vincent Clerc (third left), and his team during Hong Kong Maritime Week.

It has been a decade since Hong Kong Maritime Week was first held in 2016. Despite interruption by the pandemic, Hong Kong Maritime Week has returned with a larger scale and a broader vision. Next year, we shall welcome the tenth edition of Hong Kong Maritime Week. I look forward to joining hands with industry partners to showcase Hong Kong’s global strategy and local strengths as a “super connector” to the worldwide shipping community.