KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Kong-listed Kerry Logistics Network Ltd's Malaysian unit KEX Express (International) Sdn Bhd is on a right path to be a global player, competing better with the "Big Four" logistics companies of the world.
KEX Express, formerly ABX Express and now offers international express delivery services to more than 225 countries from Malaysia, today announced that it was undertaking a rebranding, which would launch the company into a new trajectory.
The rebranding is also a culmination of the part it plays under the banner of Kerry Logistics as well as its strategic investment and cooperation with SF Group last year.
SF Group is a Chinese courier firm and the largest delivery company for online shopping giants Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com.
In October 2021, SF Group acquired a 51.8 per cent stake in Kerry Logistics, which was controlled by tycoon Robert Kuok.
The Chinese courier, which operates SF Express in mainland China and Hong Kong, paid HK$17.55 billion (US$2.3 billion) in cash to buy 931.21 million shares of Kerry Logistics through a wholly-owned unit.
The merger reportedly created the "biggest logistics group in Asia".
The acquisition saw Kuok's shareholding in Kerry Logistics reduced from 63.35 per cent to about 32 per cent.
The world's top four logistics companies by revenue are reported lead by UPS, followed by DHL, FedEx and Switzerland-based Kuehne + Nagel Inc.
KEX Express senior general manager Richard Lui said the combination of Kerry Logistics and SF Group had given the company immediate access to Kerry Logistics's extensive global network and a full-fledged international express set of offerings with particular strength to China and intra-Asia.
"Combining the experience we have garnered from serving Malaysians since 1984, with the wide network of the Kerry Logistics Group, we at KEX Express aim to be the trusted logistics partner to all Malaysians.
"We also aim to provide hassle-free and seamless express delivery services for all businesses, as well as for personal delivery needs to both local and international destinations," he said at the launch of the rebranding exercise here.
KEX Express was incorporated in 1984 as ABX Express, specialising in last mile delivery within the domestic market. In 2015, the company became part of Kerry Logistics.
It boasts over 700 service touchpoints nationwide, with over 3,000 employees.
The company has one of the widest coverage networks in Sabah and Sarawak within the express delivery industry.
On a potential KEX Express initial public offering (IPO), Kerry Express (Thailand) plc chief executive officer Alex Ng Kin Hang said it was still too early to tell.
"A listing may enhance the company's financial health and governance. Financial health is |s very good at. We will not got for IPO for the sake of listing," he said.