China set to snatch HK ports crown

HONG Kong may soon lose its crown as the world's busiest container port to rivals on the Chinese mainland amid the rapid shift in business to the Communist country.

Economic activity in China has been growing swiftly, especially in its southern province of Guangdong, adjacent to Hong Kong. The booming region - dubbed the 'new workshop of the world' - has led to rapid growth in local port facilities.

Last year Hong Kong handled 19.1m 20-foot equivalent units (teus), the standard industry-measure of throughput. Shenzhen, Guangdong's main port, handled 7.61m teus last year, placing it as the world's sixth busiest port, up from eighth spot the year before.

Shanghai's port has also been growing at breakneck pace. It handled 8.31m teus last year and is expected to surpass the 10m level this year.

'We will lose the number one position, but if we lose it to China, maybe that is less painful than if we lose it to Singapore,' said Erik Christensen, managing director of Hong Kong's second-largest terminal operator, Modern Terminals.

China's ports are also cheaper than those in the former colony, thanks in part to lower labour costs.

Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest businessman and owner of conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, predicts that labour rates will converge in about three years.