Yunda Express, one of China’s major courier companies, announced that it has received investment from five institutions including Fosun Group, Ping An Insurance, China Merchants Bank, Oriental Fortune Capital and Yunhui Capital, according to its official website on Saturday. Yunda has yet to disclose details on the amount of financing it received.
The company said this round of financing will be used to upgrade and automize its delivery platform, expand service mechanisms and build its worldwide delivery network.
Founded in 1999, Yunda Express is now a leading delivery company in China. According to the China e-Commerce Research Center, Yunda Express, together with another four large delivery companies including STO, YTO, ZTO and BEST, accounts for 80% of China’s domestic logistics e-commerce market share.
China’s logistics industry has boomed in recent years. Parcel deliveries in 2015 reached 20 billion, the highest consignment volume worldwide. China’s State Council reports that China will deliver 50 billion packages in 2020, and the revenue of the logistics industry will reach RMB 800 billion by then.
Apart from Yunda Express, two other delivery companies secured financing in the same week. On Tuesday, one insider said that ZJS Express closed Series B financing to support its independent operation of warehouse, transport and distribution units, and on Thursday, TTK Express, which just finished strategic reorganization with STO, landed RMB six billion in Series A financing. It plans to list in the capital markets.
2016 has seen a trend of logistics companies going public. Alibaba-backed YTO Express announced plans for listing on China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange in January. ZTO Express is planning its IPO in the US later this year or in early 2017. China’s largest delivery company, S.F. Express, also plans to list its IPO in China’s domestic stock market. Yunda Express hasn’t released any information on its listing plan.
(Top photo from Baidu Images)
