Hong Kong can become a regional trading hub for green marine fuel and help augment China’s influence on supply and pricing, according to an industry player.
“Hong Kong’s advantages lie in its roles as an international free port, shipping and financial hub, and the government’s willingness to support energy transition and green finance,” said Leo Yang Xiaohu, president of CIMC Enric Holdings, which built the city’s first hydrogen refuelling station and related infrastructure in 2023.
By boosting domestic green fuel demand, Hong Kong can help Beijing fend off trade barriers overseas and enhance the nation’s influence on its pricing, Yang said in an interview on Wednesday. “If Hong Kong can develop a trading hub, we can have a bigger say in green fuel trading and pricing,” Yang said.
The European Union, the world’s largest biodiesel market, last August imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese biodiesel, prompting producers to seek alternative markets.
Last year, the government published an action plan to develop Hong Kong into a green fuel bunkering or shipping-fuel supply centre. In February, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po pledged to provide tax exemptions for importing and consuming green methanol.
(Clockwise from top left) Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan, CIMC Enric Holdings president Leo Yang Xiaohu, CIMC Enric Technology Innovation Sharing Centre general manager Li Dong and principal assistant secretary of the Transport and Logistics Bureau Klaus Chan, at the MOU signing ceremony on Wednesday. Photo: Handout
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan Mei-po said in a statement on Wednesday that the Marine Department would gazette the code of practice for methanol bunkering this month.
