China's ZJS Express raises $153m

Founded in 1994, ZJS is one of China’s oldest logistics operators. The company started out by offering B2B express delivery services and initially missed out on China’s B2C e-commerce boom. It added a B2C service in 2014, and a consortium led by Fosun International acquired a 30% stake later the same year.

The company reprioritized corporate services, with a focus on brand owners, in 2018, according to Hongtao Wang, chairman of ZJS. This followed a Series A of RMB1.2 billion. The Series B will go towards enhancing IT infrastructure, restructuring the company’s network with a focus on corporate services, and expanding service offerings.

“In the next three to five years, ZJS will achieve rapid annual growth of 50-100% by redefining the business, empowering corporates, and superimposing a new business ecosystem,” Wang said in a statement.

Recent investment activity in the logistics space has concentrated on the less-than-truckload (LTL) market, which sits in between express couriers and big truck operators and is seen as ripe for consolidation.

ANE Logistics, one of the top three local LTL players, raised $300 million in January. Previously, SF Freight, the LTL arm of courier giant SF Express, received $300 million, while the likes of Boyu Capital and Hopu Investment have joined a RMB1 billion extended Series D round for Yimidida.

In terms of liquidity events, Dada Nexus, a last-mile delivery platform, raised $322 million through a US IPO last year.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Industrials
• China
• Logistics
• Sino-Ocean Capital
• Growth capital