SPAIN'S national post office has branched out into south-east Asia, investing €5.7 million in creating a new joint-venture company with Kerry Logistics and GFS.
The first of these is an international logistics corporation operating in the region, and the second is one of the main parcel collection and delivery services in China.
Having recently revamped its logo and announced a 'modern, international focus', the Spanish post office – known as 'Correos' – is actively seeking to boost its activity beyond national borders, and began operating in Portugal earlier this year.
Now, it wants to take advantage of the growing online trade industry, of which China leads the field worldwide with over 50 billion parcels changing hands last year alone, of which 8.8% came from or were sent to other countries.
This means, based upon China alone and without taking into account the rest of the south-eastern part of the continent, Correos is able to access a market that exports over four billion packages a year, with annual growth forecast at over 20% between now and the year 2022.
Correos wants to acquire a market position as 'key operator' in parcel delivery, and expects to be able to handle up to half a million packages a day.
The company will set up a packaging, reception and sorting office in a part of China that is only 100 kilometres away from Hong Kong, to provide access to the rest of the continent.
