10% stake in SingPost transferred to Alibaba Investment
Further to its SGX announcement on 28 May 2014, SingPost has received all the requisite regulatory approvals in relation to the issuance and transfer of shares to Alibaba Investment Limited. In total, 220.096 million new ordinary shares and existing treasury shares were issued and transferred today to Alibaba Investment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited, in accordance with the terms of the Investment Agreement. With the completion of the issuance, Alibaba Investment Limited will hold a 10.32% stake in SingPost.
SingPost also wishes to announce that Mr Chen Jun, Vice President in the Alibaba Group and Managing Director, Alibaba Strategic Investment, has been appointed to the SingPost Board as Alibaba’s representative effective 31 July 2014.
The companies continue to discuss their strategic business cooperation to create an international e-commerce logistics platform, to tap e-commerce opportunities in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Said Dr Wolfgang Baier, Group Chief Executive Officer of SingPost: “Our teams have been in intensive discussions on the strategic collaboration. We also have a dedicated SingPost team comprising experts in areas such as line haul, delivery networks and sales working closely with Alibaba to establish the necessary infrastructure and frameworks.”
Over the past few years, SingPost has been developing its international logistics capabilities, infrastructure and delivery networks, and as well as end-to-end solutions. This is part of its strategy to mitigate declining mail volumes by diversifying its postal business through five business pillars namely Mail, Digital Services, Logistics, eCommerce, Retail & Financial Services.
Added Dr Baier: “Globally, mail volumes have declined by 10-40% over the past five years. Industry research anticipates global volumes to continue declining between 1% and 4% per annum across all segments of mail. Singapore has seen a similar declining trend. For postal companies to survive this structural decline, it is imperative that we invest to increase productivity and enhance customer service and diversify for sustainable growth.”
