HONG KONG has participated in the Marintec China 2011, a biennial international shipping and maritime trade fair being held in Shanghai.

Hong Kong Permanent Transport Secretary Francis Ho said at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Pavilion that Hong Kong will not only chase higher cargo throughput, but will continue to upgrade its already sophisticated maritime services, including shipping registration, ship brokerage, ship management, marine insurance, ship finance, maritime law and arbitration.

"We are already moving in that direction. It is noteworthy that 43 per cent of arbitration cases handled by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre in 2010 were related to shipping, a jump of seven percentage points as compared with 2009," he said.

More than 1,650 exhibitors have joined the show in Shanghai this year, featuring 18 national and regional pavilions to showcase versatile maritime services worldwide.