Sir Yue-Kong Pao, Hong Kong shipping magnate, has been awarded the Insignia of the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Emperor of Japan, in recognition of his contributions to world shipping and the Japanese shipping and shipbuilding industries.

Sir Yue-Kong is chairman of the World-Wide Shipping Group, generally acknowledged as one of the largest independent shipowning organizations in the world. He is also chairman of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, which represents most of the independent tanker interests in 26 maritime countries.