Hong Kong plans to launch a study of its position as an international logistics hub in relation to counterparts in Asia, Europe and the United States. Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board acting secretary Roger Tupper said the logistics development committee - established in March - also would study SAR institutional arrangements. 'The study will determine whether there is a need to strengthen these institutional arrangements and whether they can do something for logistics development,' Mr Tupper said. Logistics is the management science embracing the efficient movement and storage of goods and provision of services. Its scope extends from manufacturing to final delivery, including related aspects of information technology and other control systems - also known as supply-chain management. Mr Tupper said the logistics committee, comprising representatives of the air and sea-freight community, was looking at business opportunities and trade flows through Hong Kong. The committee also would look at the cyberspace facilities and regulatory infrastructure Hong Kong has been building through Tradelink and other bodies to determine if there was a need for improvement. The Customs and Excise Department, which simplified transshipment procedures for air freight, is looking at a similar exercise for maritime trade. Mr Tupper said attention had been given to improving cross-border traffic, such as more gates at Man Kam To checkpoint and having a channel for empty containers. He said the committee had been established to study claims that Hong Kong was lagging behind Singapore in logistics development. Singapore had attracted investors to build logistics centres because the government provided land. The nearest move in Hong Kong had been the Airport Authority calling for expressions of interest to build two logistics centres at Chek Lap Kok. This resulted in 18 expressions of interest and seven respondents had been asked to submit proposals. Some had reconsidered investing in the project, claiming a logistics centre would be better positioned and cheaper to build at a site halfway between the airport and the port at Kwai Chung. As China prepares to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO), competition will intensify between Hong Kong and mainland ports and airports for business.