New online platform to boost FTZ prospects

The financial reforms being undertaken at the FTZ have provided the perfect home for the upcoming online container forward booking platform, said Fu.

With most ship owners set to be involved based overseas, and the consignors based in China, there is expected to be a huge demand for two-way cross-border renminbi payment system.

"The entire shipping industry has remained stagnant ever since the global financial crisis of 2008," said Fu.

"London's position at the heart of the world's shipping industry has remained unshaken since then. There are worries that the sluggish international trade that China is facing will bring bad timings for the upcoming online container forward booking system. But the favorable policies introduced by the FTZ authorities have come just in time to purge the gloom."