EBay, Citic Deliver Logistics Venture

U.S. e-commerce giant eBay Inc. has set up a joint venture with a unit of Citic Private Equity Funds Management Co. Ltd. to expand its cross-border logistics network as online retailers work to deliver goods faster to overseas buyers.

In a statement, eBay said it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Orange Connex Holding to form Orange Connex Ltd. (OCL).

OCL has unveiled SpeedPAK, a new eBay shipping program tailor-made for cross-border e-commerce sellers in China, the statement said.

“Our investment in OCL and the launch of SpeedPAK are of great significance … as (the latter) enables end-to-end management of shipping processes and greatly enhances the buyer experience,” said John Lin, eBay global vice president of international cross-border trade. “In the future, more buyers around the world can enjoy high-quality products with great prices from China in a more-convenient and faster way.”

SpeedPAK represents a key upgrade to eBay’s previous shipping initiatives and will drive significant improvement in deliveries to major buyer markets. The launch is in line with “eBay’s 2018 corporate goal of driving a better buying experience and bringing in more active buyers,” the statement added.

SpeedPAK offers an end-to-end transit time of eight to 12 business days, and it currently covers the entire United States. Services to the U.K., Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Italy and Spain will be launched in the second quarter.

The joint venture follows Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s announcement in September that it will invest 100 billion yuan ($15.8 billion) over five years to build a global logistics network. It has established direct sales channels in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, facilitated by a $2 billion investment in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group.

Contact reporter Jason Tan (jasontan@caixin.com)