LBC Express Holdings Inc. is acquiring stakes in two logistics companies to strengthen its position as the country’s leading payments, remittance, courier products, mail, parcels and cargo company.
LBC Express said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it signed a deal to acquire a 30-percent interest in Orient Freight International Inc., which is engaged in freight forwarding, cargo handling and management business for P218.8 million.
“This is a strategic investment for LBC as we continue to move toward expanding our business and maintaining our number one position in the industry. Having a stake in OFII will yield LBC enhanced economies of scale, while also achieving improved cost efficiency in certain subsectors of our business where we see a great deal of growth prospects,” LBC Express chief executive Mike Camahort said.
OFII is a leading freight forwarder and cargo handler in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia. Its services include air freight, sea freight, land transport, container yard, customs clearance, container freight station, logistics management, warehousing and domestic distribution. Orient Freight currently operates domestic offices and facilities in Manila, Clark, Cavite, Bataan, Laguna, Batangas, Subic, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Zamboanga.
Globally, OFII teams up with Hellmann Worldwide Logistics to provide an international network of 437 branches in 162 countries.
Meanwhile, LBC Express is also acquiring a majority 86.11-percent stake in QuadX Inc., a digital logistics company that owns, maintains and operates an e-com website such as Shipping Cart, Check Me Out and XPost.
“Our vision for the next few years is to pave the way for Digital Logistics in the Philippines, and continue to lead the industry,” Camahort said.
“It’s a very exciting time in logistics, and there’s much to do quickly in order to be constantly, globally competitive. Everything is now in “real time”; getting into digital is definitely a must,” he said.
QuadX transaction volumes grew 330 percent to 280,000 average monthly transactions in the first quarter of 2017, and ending the year with 1,200,000 average monthly transactions in the fourth quarter.
QuadX currently operates eight hubs and employs 1,200 delivery couriers/riders. On top of its extensive retail customer base, QuadX also serves more than 25,000 merchants, comprised mostly of small- and medium-enterprises.