There is no such thing as asset-light logistics. Cainiao, an Alibaba associate that provides the technology to link companies with couriers, may be as close as it gets.
The e-commerce giant, whose own market value is poised to overtake that of Amazon, said on Tuesday that it would pay Rmb5.3bn ($807m) to take its stake in Cainiao from 47 per cent to 51 per cent. It will consolidate Cainiao in its accounts and gain an extra board seat.
Improving logistics is crucial to China’s booming e-commerce market. But those groups that have gone public have had difficulties. Best Logistics, also backed by Alibaba, cut the target for IPO proceeds by half last week. Shares in ZTO Express have lost a quarter since their IPO last year.