Japanese delivery service buys stake in Taiwanese firm

Japan's biggest home-delivery service provider, Yamato Trans-port Co, yesterday announced plans to form a joint venture with a local company, making it the first foreign business entity to invest in the nation's transport industry after relevant regulations were amended late last year.

Grabbing a 40-percent market share with 1 billion packages delivered in Japan last year, Yamato decided to buy a 10 percent share of President Transnet Corp (統一速達), which has managed Yamato's Takkyubin (宅急便) service in Taiwan for nearly four years.

"As we have cooperated with President Transnet for a long time with the same business goal, we've realized that this Taiwanese company is a favorable investment target for us and therefore decided to push forward the joint-venture project after regulations were relaxed last year," Yamato's president Atsushi Yamazaki said at a contract-signing ceremony in Taipei yesterday.

In the ceremony yesterday, Jason Lin (林蒼生), chief executive officer of Uni-President Group (統一集團) -- the parent company of President Transnet -- said the deal would give Yamato 10 percent of President Transnet's NT$1 billion capital. Uni-President Group retains its 20 percent share, while President Chain Store Corp's (統一超商) share drops from 80 percent to 70 percent.

Saying that this joint venture signifies Yamato's approval and recognition of President Transnet's business performance, Lin added that the transnational cooperation would help consumers in Taiwan as well as Japan to obtain or transport farm produce, aquatic products and specialty goods much easier.

After regulations in the Highway Law (公路法) were amended at the end of last year, Japan's three leading home-delivery operators have been eager to enter Taiwan's NT$20 billion market through their local partners.

Japan's Sagawa Express Co is in talks with Taiwan's Hsin Chu Trans (新竹貨運), a subsidiary of Shihlin Electric (士林電機), to become a minor shareholder.

Another Japanese distribution company, Nippon Express, has also shown interest in investing in Taiwan Pelican Express Co (台灣宅配通), the nation's first home-delivery service operator established by Teco Electric and Machinery Co (東元電機) in July 2000.