Hong Kong needs to “streamline” customs processes, says DHL’s Kelvin Leung

DHL Global Forwarding’s Asia-Pacific chief executive, Kelvin Leung, has advised that Hong Kong needs to “streamline its customs and inspection processes for goods being imported by mainland China”, if it wants to remain a gateway to China’s e-commerce market. In an interview piece published in today’s South China Morning Post, Leung said that Hong Kong still has many advantages compared to free trade zones such as Qianhai, in Shenzhen, but it has to cut back on the red tape if it is to “avoid being marginalised”.

“Work such as food safety checks and the submission of forms is still duplicated in Hong Kong and on the mainland,” Leung was quoted as saying.

The South China Morning Post also quoted Leung as saying: “Our goal is to further expand into China’s tier-three and tier-four cities and deepen local partnerships with e-commerce giants like Alibaba and JD.com.”