FORMER Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has said the city does not aim to become another London or replace the British capital as it seeks to develop into a high value-added maritime hub.

Speaking at the launch of the industry body the Hong Kong Chamber of Shipping on Monday, Mr Leung also expressed confidence that the city could achieve more in maritime services with Beijing's backing.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the event for a maritime law dual-degree partnership between the University of Hong Kong and Peking University, writes South China Morning Post.

Mr Leung, one of the chamber's founders, referenced London as a major maritime centre without a significant volume of vessel traffic, thanks to its booming maritime services.

"We are not saying Hong Kong will become another London. But we'd better start," Mr Leung said.

"And at the same time, you have to attribute and appreciate what Hong Kong has but London doesn't."

He cited advantages created by the "one country, two systems" governing principle and China's strength in shipping.

China is now the world's largest builder of merchant ships, aided by a boom in global trade since its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001.

In the first half of this year, the country exported US$6.8 billion in value via container, up by 71.67 per cent year on year, while the volume of exports also went up by 113.16 per cent in the same period.

The former city leader also referred to the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals as one of Hong Kong's advantages, even though it failed for the first time to rank among the world's top 10 ports last year, according to figures from shipping data provider Alphaliner. The port ranked 11th.

"Hong Kong has this large, international and highly efficient port that London doesn't have," he said, adding that container volume should not be regarded as the sole yardstick to evaluate a port's success.

While the container terminal business in Hong Kong was important, it was only one part of the international shipping centre industry chain, he said.

To consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international shipping centre, it was essential to develop beyond providing container terminals, he argued, citing maritime business services in legal and insurance aspects.

"By creating a robust ecosystem, we believe that it can provide high-income job opportunities for Hong Kong residents, especially for the next generation," he said.

Hing Chao, another chamber founder and who also chairs it, said the growing need for advanced maritime services from mainland China would greatly fuel Hong Kong's development into a high value-added maritime service cluster.

"Ports, shipping companies in China, as they become more international, they will naturally want to tap into Hong Kong's high value-added maritime service," he said, noting the city was one of four arbitration venues, alongside London, New York and Singapore, designated by the Baltic and International Maritime Council, the largest international shipping industry association in the world.

But Mr Chao admitted that the challenge for Hong Kong was how to convince people to use such high value-added services provided by the city.

According to the UK Shipping Concierge, an agency that helps maritime businesses to interact with government departments, the United Kingdom has a roughly 25 per cent share of the global marine insurance market, while 80 per cent of global maritime disputes are arbitrated in London.