Lithuania Post bid to become China’s e-commerce gateway into Europe
Lithuania Post is partnering with SF Express, one of the largest courier service providers in China, to bring Asian e-commerce products into Europe. The deal follows a similar partnership agreement signed last month with logistics firm CLEVY, which works with e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
The state-owned Baltic postal operator said it will cooperate on the delivery of items from China to European Union countries, Russia and Belarus.
Lithuania Post’s Chairman of the Board, Arijandas Šliupas, said the deal would see Lithuania becoming a gateway into Europe for one of the world’s biggest e-commerce industries.
Šliupas, who is also Lithuania’s vice-minister for transport and communications, said: “Lithuania Post’s partnership with courier and mail delivery companies in China plays an important role in exploiting the potential of our country. Due to a convenient geographical location and well-developed transport infrastructure we are an especially attractive country in terms of transit of international correspondence.”
S.F. Express has been operating since 1993 in China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, expanding internationally to operate in the US, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.
The company has nearly 240,000 employees, a fleet of more than 10,000 vehicles and 14 freighter aircraft, along with 7,800 retail outlets.
The partnership with S.F. Express also involves the transport and logistics company Hoptrans, which is based in Lithuania’s second-largest city, Kaunas.
Lithuania Post said with the rapid market growth within Chinese e-commerce, merchants were increasingly looking to find safe and fast delivery routes to markets in countries abroad, including in Europe.
Lina Minderienė, the Lithuania Post chief executive, said: “The partners in foreign countries highly value the quality of services provided by Lithuania Post and its flexibility, ability to offer unique solutions for fast and safe delivery of items. While strengthening our position in the market that is one of the largest in the world we open up new opportunities for the development of Lithuania Post and turnover growth.”
Last month’s agreement with Beijing-based logistics consulting and service provider CLEVY also aims to build on Lithuania’s position in the Baltic and European postal market. CLEVY specialises in helping Chinese businesses develop their sales outside China.
