DHL announced further plans to expand in Asia today, revealing investment of EUR 84 million ($110million) that it will make in China over the next few years.
Klaus Zumwinkel, chair of DHL’s parent company Deutsche Post World Net, announced thespending in Beijing on the final leg of his North Asia tour, having also revealed investment of EUR70 million for Japan and EUR 57 million for Korea while visiting the countries earlier this week.
“We have meticulously laid a strong foundation for our business in China and Asia Pacific bybuilding a robust network infrastructure for the express and logistics industry,” said Zumwinkel.
“We are committed to maintaining this momentum, and playing an active role in moving Chinaand the region up the value chain of the logistics industry globally,” he added.
DHL says it has already invested EUR 1.3 billion in Asia Pacific since 2001, EUR 764 millionin the Greater China region.
Zumwinkel said DHL Express was now successfully implementing its “First in China” strategy,launched in April 2006, which involved building a EUR 18.3 million DHL-Sinotrans headquarters inBeijing, a logistics centre in the Waigaoqiao Bonded Logistics Zone (WBLZ) in Shanghai andincreasing the number of its branches to 73 nationwide.
Last month, DHL became the first international express operator to launch a domestic airfreight service in China. It has also ventured westward outside of the usual key economic areas andestablished its presence in provinces such as Shaanxi, Yunnan and Sichuan, as well as Lhasa inTibet.
“Recent events have shown that DHL is truly committed to our role as a trade facilitator toprovide efficient support for the economic growth and development of different regions in China,”said Scott Price, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.
“Our commitment drives us to meet the needs of businesses, prompting us to always proactivelyevaluate how best we can fit into the business strategies of our customers.”
