Aramex forms joint venture with China's Sinotrans
Express delivery and logistics firm Aramex has formed a joint venture with Chinese logistics giant Sinotrans to pursue the Chinese market for express and freight. The 50:50 venture with the Chinese firm’s Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co Ltd (Sinoair) subsidiary is part of the Jordan-based company’s ongoing expansion into key global emerging markets, it said.
It will combine the technological capabilities, services and global reach Aramex can provide with the coverage Sinoair can provide in China.
The venture, Aramex Sinoair, will particularly support growing demand for transportation between China and the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Africa.
Aramex founder and CEO Fadi Ghandour, said: “The formation of Aramex Sinoair not only expands and strengthens our operations in China and neighbouring East Asian economies, but also gives us the ability to serve our global clients better, and opens up enormous new opportunities for us.”
Although there have been concerns about the Chinese economy in recent weeks, particularly regarding manufacturing companies’ sales in the stalling European market, the country’s economy was continuing its 9.1% growth rate during the third quarter of this year. Economists are currently forecasting an 8.5% expansion of China’s economy in 2012.
Aramex noted that the first half of this year saw 36% growth from last year’s record trade volumes between China and the Middle East, reaching $120bn for the six months compared to the $190bn for the whole of 2010.
Sinotrans
One of the largest logistics firms in China, the Sinotrans group has about 21,000 staff in China, along with assets of RMB 22bn ($3.4bn USD) including 3,000 vehicles, 98 ships and 335 warehouses.
The state-owned enterprise was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2003, with subsidiaries providing sea, air and road transportation, storage and terminal services, brokerage and clearance services, express logistics and freight forwarding.
Sinoair is the Group’s airfreight and express subsidiary, which already works with international partners to link through to an overseas network across the world.
Aramex said its alliance with Sinoair would be based out of Shanghai, with plans to open additional offices in Beijing and Guangzhou before potentially expanding to other major cities.
Othman Al Jeda, the chief executive for Aramex in Asia, said: “The opportunities for Aramex in China are clearly tremendous, and we believe that through our partnership with Sinoair, we will be well-positioned to extend our full range of services across China to meet the growing demands of the economy, while linking China with its major trading partners in the Middle East and Africa.”
