SINGAPORE (July 3): New York Stock Exchange-listed BEST Inc is set to offer its parcel delivery services in Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia, as part of its expansion into Southeast Asia.
This follows its entry into Thailand and Vietnam last year, the China-based integrated smart supply chain solutions and logistics services provider announced on July 2.
The company is also looking to launch cross-border services between China and the five markets this month, to elevate its international logistics solutions.
“The outbreak of Covid-19 accelerated and amplified consumers’ reliance on e-commerce and created even larger potential opportunities in [Southeast Asia],” observes Johnny Chou, BEST Inc’s founder, chairman and CEO.
“We are excited to develop our logistics networks in Southeast Asia, a key focus area of our global strategy,” he adds.
Drawing reference to a study by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Chou says these opportunities come from the 360 million internet users in the region who are pushing the e-commerce sector’s earnings to US$150 billion ($195.2 billion) by 2025. This is more than double the US$38 billion it stood at in 2019.
Best Inc’s gameplan is to operate 12 sortation centers and some 400 service stations in Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia in the next three years.
Of this, Singapore will boast a customised sortation center and 20 service stations.
Citing data from Market Research company GlobalWebIndex on 73% of internet users here having online buying experience in 2Q19, BEST Inc believes the republic offer it good opportunities it can tap on.
Aside from this, it is looking into supply chain management, freight delivery and truckload capacity brokerage in Southeast Asia. It also has its sights on expanding to Indonesia and the Philippines in the near future.
Says Chou, “we are confident that our technology-enabled logistics services and high-quality express delivery options will be a critical service component for both merchants and consumers, during both this difficult period and beyond it."
As at 4.29pm, shares of BEST Inc were up 15 cents or 3.42% to USD4.53.
