Hong Kong port is increasingly being challenged by the capacity of other ports in southern China, especially in Shenzhen, to ship goods directly to the rest of the world.

Recently, several reports have pointed to regulatory barricades, such as trucking licenses and restrictions on cross-border vehicle usage, that are artificially raising the cost of using Hong Kong port's main terminals for China-linked cargo.

While other observers of the industry point to Hong Kong's advantages in its efficiency and ability to offer value-adding services to the movement of goods as allowing, it seems inevitable that Hong Kong will lose market share to its lower cost rivals across the border.

In the face of this change, is it inevitable that Hong Kong will have to surrender its status as one of the world's leading ports? What are the policy options open to Hong Kong either to prevent this or prepare for it? What lessons can it learn from elsewhere, where other ports have found themselves in similar predicaments? In the third of a series of seminars on business and economic policy issues facing Hong Kong, the question of the long-term future of the city's port is examined.

8.30	Registration and welcome refreshments
9.00	Welcome Remarks
9.10	Opening Presentation Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman, CEO of Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas "Establishment of a greenfield terminal: The risks, challenges and lessons of establishing Port of Tanjung Pelepas"
9.40	Panel Discussion Session 1 - Hong Kong's port - The threats • Shenzhen's rise • Hong Kong's cost base • Border obstacles Panelists: • Charles de Trenck, Director, Head of Regional Transport, Citigroup Smith Barney • Rufin Mak, Vice President, CSX World Terminals LLC and Managing Director, CSX World Terminals Hong Kong • Raymond Fan, Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Labour (Economic Development) 3, Economic Development & Labour Bureau, The Government of HKSAR • Jonathan Beard, Managing Director, GHK Consultants • Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman, CEO of Malaysia¡¦s Port of Tanjung Pelepas • Mike Collier, Director of Operations, Reebok Trading (Far East) Limited • Professor Y.C. Richard Wong, Acting Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong Transcripts for downloading
10.30	Morning tea/coffee
11.00	Panel Discussion Session 2 - Hong Kong's port - The future • Policies to keep Hong Kong port viable • Barriers which could be removed • Value-adding services Hong Kong can offer Panelists: • Charles de Trenck, Director, Head of Regional Transport, Citigroup Smith Barney • Rufin Mak, Vice President, CSX World Terminals LLC and Managing Director, CSX World Terminals Hong Kong • Raymond Fan, Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Labour (Economic Development) 3, Economic Development & Labour Bureau, The Government of HKSAR • Jonathan Beard, Managing Director, GHK Consultants • Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman, CEO of Malaysia¡¦s Port of Tanjung Pelepas • Mike Collier, Director of Operations, Reebok Trading (Far East) Limited • Professor Y.C. Richard Wong, Acting Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong Transcripts for downloading
11.50	Closing Remarks
12.00	End of Seminar