China’s second-largest e-commerce company, JD.com, has announced a US$306 million investment in pan-Asian logistics real estate company e-Shang Redwood (ESR), which will further expand its reach across Asia’s fast-growing online retail landscape, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
ESR is China’s second-largest logistics company. It owns and operates more than 10 million square metres of warehouse space across China, Japan, Korea and India, with US$12 billion worth of
assets under management. The company also has a presence in Singapore and Australia.
“This investment in ESR will further strengthen our relationship to solidify and expand our logistics networks. We look forward to working closely, and together we will continue to expand the
ecosystem to bring values to our customers and business partners,” said Zhenhui Wang, the chief executive of JD Logistics, a subsidiary of JD.com headquartered in Beijing which made the investment.
One of Asia’s leading logistics players
Other than the price, JD.com did not disclose further details about its stake in ESR, but in terms of ownership it will
be “on the smaller side”, a source close to the deal was quoted as saying by the SCMP.
ESR is now looking at listing in the next 12 to 18 months, according to the source. The company is also looking to grow its assets to US$20 billion in the next 12 months.
ESR was formed out of a January 2016 merger between Shanghai-based developer e-Shang Cayman and Singaporean logistics fund manager Redwood Group Asia, to become one of Asia’s biggest logistics
players.
In April, a JD.com subsidiary also bought a 10 per cent stake in China’s second-biggest logistics company, China
Logistics Property Holdings, for HK$898.99 million (US$114.6 million) through the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Nol van Fenema
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