UPS opens branches across China
United Parcel Service Inc will enhance its ground capability in China by opening 10 more branches this year, the US express delivery giant said yesterday.
The branches will open in 10 cities, including Zhuhai, Nantong, Wuhan, Shaoxing and Weihai, this year, said Sebastian Chan, vice president of UPS China’s supply chain operations.
Now the company runs 23 branches across the country.
UPS is the first foreign express firm to operate as a wholly owned concern after it paid USD 100 million to gain total control of its Chinese operations from Chinese partner Sinotrans.
It also runs a financial unit, UPS Capital, in Shanghai to offer loans for domestic clients involved in its supply chain by cooperating with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Shenzhen Development Bank and China Merchants Bank.
The company will compete with its rivals on improving its hardware as well as technologies.
The company has invested USD 600 million in China from 2002 to 2007 to boost its capacity and infrastructure, leading to a 40-percent growth in cargo volume last year.
An air-cargo hub of UPS will be open in the fourth quarter of this year at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
The facility is designed to have a sorting capacity of 17,000 pieces an hour by 2012, and the initial investment is USD 20 million.
UPS launched a 210,000-square-meter logistic center in Beijing last June and will offer services for 19 Olympics venues.
