OOIL, the parent holding company of Hong Kong containerline OOCL, Cosco Shipping Logistics and JD Logistics, the delivery arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, have signed an agreement, to jointly invest in online logistics platform Eshipping through a joint venture formation.
Under the agreement, JD Logistics, Gold Talent, a wholly owned subsidiary of OOIL, and Cosco Shipping Logistics will form a joint venture for the acquisition of Shenzhen-based Eshipping Global Supply Chain Management, an online logistics platform controlled by Cosco. Gold Talent and Cosco Shipping Logistics will then transfer their entire shareholdings in Eshipping into the joint venture, while JD Logistics will also contribute cash and logistics assets.
The joint venture will be set up in Shanghai with an initial investment of RMB255m ($38m).
Following the completion of the investment and asset integration, JD Logistics and its affiliate will hold a total of 56% equity interest in the joint venture, while Gold Talent and Cosco Shipping Logistics will hold 22% and 18% respectively.
Eshipping was established in July 2014 by China Shipping and offers a platform to integrate international supply chain resources, including logistics, warehousing, courier, logistics financing and trading, to provide small and medium-sized enterprises and cross-border retailers one-stop logistics services.
OOIL said the set up of the joint venture will allow the company to leverage on JD Logistics’ advanced technology to gain wider exposure in the e-commerce segment, and actual experience in handling both B2B and B2C international e-commerce logistics, and to drive for future growth in these markets.
Cosco has been making efforts to expand its digital platform solutions in recent years. Last month, Cosco Shipping Technology introduced a new third party digital platform Chuan Huo Yi for domestic coastal bulk shipping.
