Hong Kong sends team to S. Korea to promote its role as int'l port

By Kim Young-gyo HONG KONG, May 30 (Yonhap) -- Hong Kong sent a delegation of maritime officials to South Korea on Monday in an effort to promote its position as an international port, government officials here said. Eva Cheng, the Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Housing, led the delegation for talks with South Korean officials about Hong Kong's strength as an international maritime center and a premier hub port, officials at the Hong Kong Transport and Housing Bureau said. "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been working closely with the maritime and port industries through the MIC and PDC to explore new business opportunities abroad," the bureau said in a statement. "Korea's huge shipping and shipbuilding industries hold tremendous market potential for Hong Kong's port and professional maritime services in areas such as maritime law, arbitration, marine insurance, shipbroking and ship finance," it said. Cheng is to meet with officials of South Korea's Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, as well as four leading Korean shipping companies, it said. During the weeklong stay, the delegation will also visit the Korean Maritime Institute, the Korean Shipbuilders' Association, Korea Maritime University and Busan Port, South Korea's busiest container port, the bureau said.