Caravel

Hong Kong champion

Angad Banga feels a maritime resurgence is on the cards for the Special Administrative Region

Angad Banga, chief operating officer at his father’s Caravel Group, has become a well known, vocal face on the local Hong Kong shipping scene, a role that is set to grow and grow in the coming years.

Elected deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association last month, Banga is set to be an important champion of the city’s maritime credentials going forward.

To make Hong Kong shipping great again, Banga argues that it’s a matter of setting policies and introducing initiatives designed to help the maritime industry thrive – whether that’s about creating new opportunities, fostering innovation and collaboration, or attracting and retaining top talent.

“From my perspective, the strong support we are seeing from the central government and their commitment to reinforce Hong Kong as an international financial, shipping, trading and legal services centre certainly summons a lot of optimism for Hong Kong’s future,” Banga tells Maritime CEO.

With government backing, Banga believes there will be a kind of “resurgence” in terms of the perception of Hong Kong as a maritime leader.

To truly create a thriving marine cluster, Banga says the government needs to engage everyone from the cargo owners to the shipowners, service providers, financiers, and so on, and extend their support and investment in a holistic way given the interdependent relationships within the ecosystem.

“We’ve already witnessed how current policies, especially those around favourable fax policies for maritime leasing, is successfully doing just that and I’m hopeful about those potentially upcoming for commercial principals,” he says, stressing: “The maritime industry is weaved into the very heart and soul of Hong Kong’s history, culture, and economy so as a community – and with support and strong backing of the government – we should be doing more to preserve and promote this narrative that is unique to who we are as Hong Kong.”

Banga is also a firm believer that the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Beijing-initiated closening of ties between southern Chinese cities, will strengthen Hong Kong’s existing shipping community and position as a leading maritime centre.

“With the GBA’s focus on logistics and shipping, Hong Kong will gain exposure to a whole new world of opportunities that will enable further development of specialised services such as marine insurance and ship finance,” Banga insists. ●

“The maritime industry is weaved into the very heart and soul of Hong Kong’s history, culture, and economy”

Spot on Caravel Group

Banga family owned commodities trading firm with some owned bulk carriers and owner of Fleet Management, the world’s third largest shipmanager.