International Maritime Centre
162. Currently, around 90 per cent of the world's merchandise goods are transported by sea. With its advantageous geographical location, unique institutional strengths and extensive experience and network in international trade and commerce, Hong Kong enjoys a prime position in the shipping market. Supported by the National 14th Five‑Year Plan and the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area, the Government promulgated the Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy (Action Plan) in December last year. The Action Plan formulates 10 strategies and 32 action measures to support the sustainable development of Hong Kong's maritime and port industry, with a view to enhancing the long‑term competitiveness of the industry. It also consolidates and strengthens Hong Kong's position as an international maritime centre.
Develop High Value-Added Maritime Services
163. One of the directions set out in the Action Plan is to develop high value-added maritime services. Over the past few years, the Government has introduced a series of tax concession measures for the maritime industry in the areas of ship leasing, marine insurance, ship agency, ship management, shipbroking and so forth, which have begun to yield results. We will commence studies on further enhancements within this year.
164. In addition, Hong Kong's ship registration regime is widely recognised internationally. Hong Kong ranks fourth in the world in terms of gross tonnage, and excels in its high quality fleet. The port state control detention rate of Hong Kong registered ships is much lower than the global average. We plan to offer block registration incentive to attract shipowners to register ships in Hong Kong extensively. The Government will amend the relevant regulations regarding this incentive starting this year, and provide an outline of the incentive rules, eligibility criteria and so forth.
Modern Logistics Development
165. The Government seeks to assist the logistics industry in better capitalising on the latest developments and business opportunities in smart logistics and e-commerce. To encourage the logistics industry to enhance productivity through technology application, the Government launched a $300 million Pilot Subsidy Scheme for Third‑party Logistics Service Providers in 2020 to provide subsidies to eligible logistics service providers. So far, the scheme has benefited over 190 enterprises, involving a total of about $137 million. The scheme was enhanced in February this year, with the funding ceiling for each applicant enterprise increased from $1 million to $2 million and the scope of funding extended to cover services related to the application of ESG technology solutions.
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