TNT opens China head office whilst UPS CEO slams protectionism
Two events this week have demonstrated that the focus of the world’s largest express and logistics companies remains very much on China, although they also indicate the contradictory nature of the market.
The entire board of TPG (owner of the TNT Express and TNT Logistics brands) attended a ceremony to mark the opening of the new TNT China head office in Shanghai in order to show the company’s commitment to the fast growing market. Earlier in the year the company outlined its plans to invest €200m in China, in order to take advantage of opportunities in the express, mail and logistics sectors.
Since 1988, TNT China has developed a profitable business achieving revenues of €250 million. It currently employs 2,500 staff across a network of 25 depots, and services more than 500 cities in China. It plans to expand its business over the next ten years to more than double the number of cities it serves to 1,000 and increase its work force tenfold.
However the Chief Executive of one of the other largest foreign operators in China, UPS, hit a more discordant note. In a speech to a trade fair in Xiamen, he told the audience that China is using unfair barriers to block foreign competition. Despite an initial roll back of regulations at the time of the country’s accession to the WTO, the government has since introduced a range of other discriminatory measures. In particular he singled out new laws designed to protect the China postal operator including its express division, EMS.
