The first six months since the reopening of the border and the return to normalcy have seen a mixture of good news and pessimistic sentiment, leaving the once-legendary Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in a contradictory state of hope and gloom. While the HKSAR government emphasizes its "multi-pronged approach to enhance competitiveness" in its mainstay transport and logistics sector, industry commentators remain wary of the city losing its edge to competitors, especially Singapore and Shanghai.
As Hong Kong accelerates its integration with the mainland, particularly the Greater Bay Area, the city has positioned itself as a high-end provider of value-added services. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung, speaking at a media luncheon, emphasized that value-added services are key to getting Hong Kong in fighting shape.
The newly-established Transport and Logistics Bureau, which aims to improve the status of Hong Kong as an international maritime center and aviation hub, has been working with transport companies to pave the way for the logistics industry to do its best in the challenging, promising and sometimes unpredictable post-pandemic era.
The first area in which the SAR government can make a difference is by providing funds to support its fledgling innovators, especially in transport and logistics, which is a pillar industry. One of the first maneuvers of the new bureau was to launch a subsidy scheme for innovative solutions. Launched in 2020, the HK$300 million ($38.3 million) Pilot Subsidy Scheme for Third-party Logistics Service Providers aims to fund projects that adopt innovative technologies to improve efficiency and productivity.
Recently, the subsidy ratio doubled from 1:1 to 2:1 to facilitate new projects that provide value-added services — from using robots to repackaging goods for retail distribution. With a total of 200 projects receiving about HK$118 million in funding, Hong Kong's logistics industry is transforming into a vibrant ecology of value-added services.
The latest figures from the International Airport Association (IAA) prove the vitality of the environment. Hong Kong International Airport was listed as the world's busiest cargo airport, handling more than 4.2 million tons of freight and airmail last year. The potential for cargo handling continues to grow as a new high-end logistics center associated with Alibaba Group is set to be established later this year.
By capturing the high-end value-added services market niche with astonishing efficiency, Hong Kong is creating business success that sometimes amounts to a new way of life. Take Chilean cherries: 90 percent of Chile's cherry exports traveled some 20,000 kilometers to Hong Kong, where they were distributed to the rest of China within hours. The city's efficiency and infrastructure network made the long-distance delivery of fresh fruit a business miracle and a blessing for Chinese New Year's platters. Lam described such efficiency as the best thing Hong Kong people can do for the world.
While commentators have been more interested in story headlines speculating over whether Hong Kong has been "marginalized" or "replaced" by its upstart competitors, Lam has been focusing on making the most of the city's strengths rather than on its rankings. Hong Kong should not waste time reminiscing over past glories or discussing factors which cannot be changed, such as geopolitics. The city should focus on making the most of what it already has and be conducive to capitalizing on its strengths. The logistics parks in Zhuhai and Dongguan are prominent attempts to extend Hong Kong's customs services to sister cities in the GBA. International air cargo can also be routed from Hong Kong to the mainland in the same way. The seamless and manageable transfers will enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong and the GBA as a whole, according to the secretary.
Seeking and creating values through qualified services is the key to future, and Hong Kong has plenty of chances to discover new possibilities for doing so.
Making the most of the short-distance express rail infrastructure is another fresh attempt to provide the best service to the public, and is also a big stride towards integration. Lam said the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is expected to serve the public as flexibly as the metro, with single tickets and monthly passes available for intercity travelers in the three cities. A special task force is now working on one of the world's most passenger-friendly arrangements for those traveling among the big trio in the GBA.
Lam indicated that, as discussions and preparations are nearing their final stage, the new scheme will be unveiled soon and intercity travel will be as convenient as possible.
Another “value-added” service recently provided by the results-oriented government was when they opted to keep bus fare increases within reasonable limits. The Transport and Logistics Bureau allowed five franchise bus companies to increase fares by between 3.9 percent and 7 percent, instead of the 8.5 percent to 50 percent increase proposed by the companies two months ago. Lam refused to reveal details of the negotiations, but said that the economic recovery and the expected increase in passenger numbers made it possible to keep the adjustment within an affordable range that would be acceptable to most citizens.
The nostalgia for "past glories" may be a popular indulgence for some, but when it comes to observing and evaluating a "city of doers”, such comparisons and speculations simply miss the point – Hong Kong lives for the future, not the past. What the Transport and Logistics Bureau has been doing to provide the city's best services to international clients and local residents epitomizes the pragmatism and utilitarianism at the heart of the city's success.
In post-epidemic Hong Kong, where the economy is reviving and thriving, transport and logistics are always in the spotlight. It is not a matter of beating competitors and dwarfing them from view, but of positioning the “city of doers” to maximize its potential against all odds and extract as much value as possible.
It is interesting to note that the practice of "media luncheons with government officials" — previously dubbed "curry meal luncheons" because the former government would provide cheap meals such as curry and rice for the media chiefs because of budget limits— had been suspended for five years. The Transport and Logistics Bureau was the first bureau to revive the tradition, foreseeing a bright future, with an attractive media presence and telling a truthful Hong Kong story.
