Express delivery giant DHL will invest several hundreds of
millions of US dollars in its seventh regional hub in the
Asia-Pacific region and make a decision between Shanghai and a
South Korean city for the hub in two months.
Jerry Hsu, president of DHL Greater China and South Korea, told
China Daily yesterday in Beijing that his company will
announce the Northeast Asia regional hub within two months, and
Shanghai and a South Korean city are in the running for the
status.
"We are still evaluating factors like landing rights, oil prices
and local infrastructure, and will make a decision soon," said
Hsu.
If Shanghai is chosen, the investment to build the facility may
double the German logistics giant's total investment on the
mainland in the past five years. DHL has committed to invest US$325
million on the mainland from 2003 to 2007.
China has been one of the fastest-growing markets for the
logistics firm under Deutsche Post, growing by about 35 percent a
year.
Hsu said DHL has a 30 percent market share in the Chinese
express delivery segment, far ahead of its competitors such as
Fedex, UPS or local rivals like China Post and private firms.
UPS, a major competitor of DHL, also announced last month that
it will establish an air delivery hub in Shanghai, the fourth such
facility in the Asia-Pacific region, with an initial investment of
US$20 million.
Fedex said in March that it would open a China regional hub in
Hangzhou, with a first-stage investment of US$2 million. It also
bought out its Chinese partner DTW in their joint venture.
DHL, the first foreign delivery firm to launch domestic services
in China, also announced yesterday that it will partner the
National Basketball Association (NBA) to promote its brand among
the Chinese.
The firm will be the official express and logistics provider for
NBA in China and Asia for at least three years to ship equipment
like professional floors and backboards for NBA games in the
region.
DHL, following the other 18 marketing partners of NBA in China,
including Adidas and Lenovo Group, will ship the NBA trophy for a
tour in Asia in 2007 and 2008 and participate in the "Basketball
without Borders" campaign in the region.
(China Daily May 15, 2007)