Vietnam first post-pandemic destination for Hong Kong logistics development council

The Hong Kong Logistics Development Council choosing Vietnam as its first destination on resuming overseas visits after the Covid-19 pandemic reflects “very close” bilateral ties between the territory and Vietnam.

“As the world returns to normalcy after the pandemic, we are more than excited to have Vietnam as the destination of our first overseas visit in a few years,” added Lam Sai-hung, secretary of transport and logistics of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at a recent conference held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Before the pandemic, the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council (LOGSCOUNCIL) would make annual trips to different parts of the world to promote the role of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) as an international logistics hub.

The trips also aimed to explore collaboration with counterparts in the constantly developing logistics industry, he said.

The conference, titled “Hong Kong as an International Logistics Hub – The Best Link in Your Global Supply Chain,” was jointly organized by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore, Invest Hong Kong and Vietnam's Chamber of Commerce and Industry with support from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

A ‘fun fact’

Not only was Vietnam an expanding economy with significant growth in its logistics, manufacturing and commerce sectors, it was also one of the closest trade partners of Hong Kong and mainland China, Lam Sai-hung noted.

"A little fun fact about Hong Kong – in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of our central regions, there are two busy major roads named Hai Phong and Hanoi. They had been named after the Vietnamese cities since the early 1900s. This is just one of the many examples reflecting Hong Kong’s cordial relations and close business and logistics ties with Vietnam since early days."

Lam Sai-hung said Hong Kong and Vietnam continued to benefit from strong and thriving bilateral trade thanks to geographical proximity and economic development on both sides. Vietnam’s importance to Hong Kong can be seen in the fact that the former was the second largest supplier of rice to the latter in 2022, he noted.

"Of course, our bilateral trade is much more than that. In 2022, bilateral trade in goods between Vietnam and Hong Kong amounted to around $33 billion, with an impressive annual growth rate of 14.5% from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, Hong Kong and Vietnam was each other’s seventh largest trading partner in terms of trade in goods. Vietnam is Hong Kong’s second largest trading partner among the 10 ASEAN member states.

"Our bilateral trade ties are becoming closer with the Free Trade Agreement and Investment Agreement signed by Hong Kong with the ASEAN, which entered into force in full in 2021.”

Lam Sai-hung noted that as an international trade and logistics center, Hong Kong was an ideal gateway between mainland China and the world, including Vietnam. In 2022, around $23 billion worth of trade between mainland China and Vietnam was routed through Hong Kong, amounting to around 9% of the total trade between the two countries.

The laden container throughput between Vietnam and Hong Kong totalled around 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2022. Of this, around 26% were transhipments related to Vietnam-mainland China trade.

The air cargo throughput between Vietnam and Hong Kong totalled around 130,000 tonnes in 2022, of which nearly half were transhipment cargo.

E-commerce logistics

“Time is key to modern logistics services, especially for e-commerce logistics. Benefitting from the comprehensive sea, land and air multimodal transport network with other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), many overseas and mainland companies have established their logistics operation in Hong Kong or are making use of the city’s world-class logistics services for their supply chain management in the region,” Lam Sai-hung said.

Quite a number of well-known overseas retail enterprises have imported overseas products into the mainland through Hong Kong via e-commerce. More advanced modern logistics facilities with sustainable and green features (such as cold chain storage) are also being developed by both local and overseas investors in Hong Kong to meet the rising global demand for modern logistics services, he added.

“Hong Kong will continue to upgrade its logistics infrastructure. With its extensive flight service network and world-class airport infrastructure, our airport has been the world’s busiest airport for many years. Last year, it handled 4.2 million tonnes of total cargo throughput. With the target of being switched from a two-runway system to a three-runway system by the end of next year, our airport is expected to reach the target of handling 10 million tonnes of cargo annually by 2035.

“The Hong Kong Port is also one of the most efficient ports in the world, with an annual throughput of nearly 17 million TEUs in 2022. We have been striving to advance smart and green port development with a view to strengthening the operational efficiency and driving sustainable development,” the Hong Kong executive said.