On October 25, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government, Mr. Lee Ka-chiu, released his 2023 Policy Address. Among them, regarding the international shipping center, the report pointed out that the HKSAR Government will continue to consolidate Hong Kong's leading position in ship registration, build Hong Kong into a leading international shipping center, and promote collaboration in shipping in the Greater Bay Area, with measures including:

1. Strategic Action Plan for Maritime Transport and Port Development: The Transport and Logistics Bureau will publish an action plan within this year to enhance high-end shipping business, facilitate the transformation of green shipping, promote the intelligence and digitization of shipping, and promote exchanges and collaboration between the Greater Bay Area and the international shipping community.

2. Promote the development of high value-added shipping services: The Commissioner for Maritime Transport and Port Development under the Transport and Logistics Bureau will co-ordinate the efforts of government departments and stakeholders to promote the development of shipping in an industry-oriented manner, in particular, to promote the development of professional services with advantages in maritime law, insurance and ship financing, and to develop the advantages of shipping in collaboration with the industry.

3. Expanding the local maritime network: tax relief measures have been implemented for different maritime services, and the response of business leaders in the shipping industry and overseas shipping companies to setting up and expanding their business in Hong Kong has been positive, and Invest Hong Kong will step up its efforts to recruit them.

4. Leveraging on the international status of maritime arbitration: Hong Kong is one of the four designated places of arbitration in the Baltic International Maritime Council (BIMCO) Standard Contracts common to the global maritime industry, and Hong Kong's maritime services are among the best in the world. Co-operation with various international maritime organizations will be strengthened, including deepening the operational activities of BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping in Hong Kong, and reinforcing Hong Kong's role as a gateway for international maritime enterprises and organizations to enter the Mainland market. 

5. Strengthening collaboration in the Greater Bay Area: To organize the next Greater Bay Area International Shipping Forum to promote the comprehensive strength of the Greater Bay Area port clusters; to continue to strengthen logistics cooperation with other cities in the Greater Bay Area (e.g. cities on the west bank of the Pearl River), and to make good use of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to facilitate the transhipment of cargoes through Hong Kong for export or import; and to strengthen the exchange of faculty with the port clusters of the Greater Bay Area to provide multi-location courses and enhance the quality of teaching staff. The report states that logistics development is crucial to the consolidation of international trade.

According to the report, logistics development is very important to consolidating the status of an international trade center. The SAR Government will publish the Action Agenda for Modern Logistics Development within this year, and formulate strategies and action measures based on the directions of intelligence, modernization, greening and sustainability, internationalization and facilitation, with a view to promoting the high-quality development of the logistics industry. The first phase includes the construction of a modern logistics circle in the Hung Shui Kiu - Ha Tsuen New Development Area, which will serve as a logistics gateway to the Greater Bay Area. The Government will promote the upgrading of the logistics industry, capitalize on the mega trend of smart logistics, build an information platform to facilitate the connection of local logistics data, and promote the flow of goods and information within the Greater Bay Area.

In order to promote the new energy transportation industry, the SAR Government will make every effort to promote the use and supply of new energy in sea, land and air transportation, lead the industry in green transformation, and explore the development of a new energy industry chain to promote a green economy. Measures include: building a green energy refilling center for shipping, studying the feasibility of providing green methanol refilling for local and ocean-going vessels, and announcing a plan of action for the construction of refilling facilities and a supply chain within next year (b) Promoting the preparatory work for the provision of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling for ocean-going vessels, including technical studies and set-up.