Hong Kong: The port that’s fighting back

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Hong Kong has, for over a century, been one of the leading ports in the world. However, in recent years it has slipped down the rankings. In 2010, Shanghai overtook Singapore to become the world’s busiest container port – a position once occupied by Hong Kong, which is now lagging behind at a lowly No. 6 in the world.

Hong Kong’s decline is, in fact, deceptive. It’s due, at least in part, to the rise of other Chinese ports. Of the ten busiest ports in the world, seven are in China, including those of Guangzhou and Qingdao.

Kwai Tsing is the main container terminal in Hong Kong CGTN Photo

The fact is that Hong Kong is working hard to maintain its position as a major international shipping hub, seemingly spurred on by the increased competition.

Modern Terminals Ltd is the second-largest container terminal operator in Hong Kong – and the oldest. It operates out of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, where it started a business in 1972. As the name implies, Modern Terminals deploys the latest in port technology, with the aim of maximizing efficiency.

Peter Levesque, Modern Terminals’ CEO, remains optimistic about the future of Hong Kong as a port.

“It’s still a highly efficient port area,” he says. This he attributes to the qualities normally associated with the city of Hong Kong, namely, “a free port, the rule of law, ease of doing business. All those things make Hong Kong still really attractive for global companies to set up.”

Levesque concedes, however, that Hong Kong's port is currently experiencing something of a lull in its fortunes. But he’s convinced the situation is temporary, ascribable to factors affecting other ports worldwide.

“We are very dependent on the global economy,” he says. “So we see here what’s going on in the global economy before anybody else does. If we don’t see things moving around out there, then we know things are slowing down.”

Whatever the state of its port and the business climate, Levesque, like many others who have made Hong Kong their home, find that the city has lost none of its appeals, which bodes well for its future.

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