- 19.
Mr Tsang pointed out that although all of Hong Kong's container facilities were built and operated by the private sector, there was considerable government input in these facilities.
"The planning of Lantau Port has been underway since 1989 and has involved many government departments as well as port and shipping industry representatives," he said.
"The Government is also committing billions of dollars in financial resources to providing infrastructure and road communications to the port."
Outlining some of the measures that the Government had taken to ensure Hong Kong remained one of the world's leading and safest maritime centres, Mr Tsang said one was the setting up of the Hong Kong Shipping Register, now in its sixth year.
"Since December 1990, Hong Kong has its own autonomous register separated from that of the United Kingdom. This register will continue to operate beyond 1997," he said.
"It now includes 600 vessels totalling nearly nine million gross tons. This is an increase of about 40 per cent since December 1990 and puts Hong Kong in fourteenth place in the world in terms of gross tonnage.
"Hong Kong has also entered into a double taxation relief agreement with the United States. Under this agreement Hong Kong residents or Hong Kong incorporated companies are not subject to United States tax on income derived from the international operation of ships."
He said another major attraction of Hong Kong as a maritime centre was its free and fair market, sound legal and financial framework, fully convertible and secure well-educated and industrious workforce and excellent network of currency, international communications.
"It is a combination of all these positive features that has enabled the Hong Kong register to operate so successfully," Mr Tsang noted.
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