Hong Kong: The Traditional Gateway

Hong Kong has served as the traditional gateway for the sourcing of goods and their movement from China.
        Today, while sharing this role with other locations, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta still maintain their dominant position. An indication of the significance of this location can be gauged by the following facts:
        • Hong Kong's role as the largest mover of shipping containers in the world, at approximately 18 million TEUs (ten-foot equivalent units) per annum;
        • Hong Kong International Airport's movement of nearly 2.5 million tons of air freight per annum, second only to Memphis in the U.S.;
        • Hong Kong's ranking as the world's 10th-largest trading entity.

        The function of Hong Kong as a trading center is complemented by the Pearl River Delta as a manufacturing area, which has developed its own port and airport infrastructure.
        This includes Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, with an annual cargo throughput of approximately 600,000 tons per annum, and the Shenzhen International Airport, which is used by Federal Express. Yantian Port is presently handling nearly six million TEUs per annum.
        However, Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta are losing their competitive lead, with new enterprises moving their businesses to other coastal and inland locations.
        To counter this trend, Hong Kong has developed a master plan focused on increasing the efficiency of freight movement and processing within Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. This is being achieved by providing an integrated multimodal transportation and value-added logistics platform capability and focusing on the Inland Distribution Network.
        The effort includes both the physical and cyber infrastructure, which incorporates the development and implementation of a DTTN (Digital Trade and Transportation Network). The objective of this strategy is to capitalize on the synergies which can be achieved as part of an integrated logistics capability, enabling Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta to compete with other lower labor cost locations including Shanghai.