UPS abandons Hong Kong for Shanghai
United Parcel Service (UPS), one of the world’s top 500 companies, is to move its Asian regional headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai, state press said Friday.
The move is primarily due to an increasing number of clients on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Daily reported, quoting Perry Chao, UPS’ China senior vice-president.
“With many of our customers, especially electronics companies, setting up plants in the Yangtze River delta, we found this region contributed a significant share to the growth of our China revenue,” Chao said.
The newspaper said that UPS’ China revenue jumped 40 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and sales rose 45 percent last year, although no detailed figures were provided.
US company’s rivals have been seeing growth rates of over 30 percent in China and are beefing up services to grab a bigger slice of a fast-growing market.
DHL Worldwide Express began offering overnight delivery for Shanghai customers last month.
UPS is the latest multinational to announce that it is abandoning the traditional bases of Hong Kong or Singapore for Shanghai.
Last month, US electronics giant Honeywell International said it was moving its Asia-Pacific headquarters to the city from Singapore.
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