Dubai, March 14th, 2012: Aramex, the global logistics and transportation solutions provider, announced today that it has formalised entry into the South Korean economy, with the signing of a service partnership agreement with CJ GLS, the global leader in logistics innovations with headquarters in Seoul.
Established in 1998, CJ GLS started as the 1st provider of third party logistics in South Korea and has grown into a leading global logistics provider with an extensive network in Korea with 74 distribution centers, and strong global outreach with 25 offices in 12 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.
The partnership between Aramex and CJ GLS follows Aramex’s recent venture into the Chinese market with the launch of the joint venture company with SinoAir, and the significant expansion across Africa in 2011 with the acquisition of OneWorld Courier and In-Time Couriers in Kenya, and Berco Express in South Africa.
“We are extremely enthusiastic about our expansion into South Korea, one of Asia’s economic power centres and the World’s sixth largest exporter. The opportunities for our partnership in the South Korean high-tech, industrialised and export driven economy are remarkable, and we firmly believe that our partnership with CJ GLS will position us as one of the leading providers of transportations and logistics providers in Asia,” said Othman Al Jeda, Chief Executive Officer for Asia, Aramex. “With the introduction of our services and innovative multi-product offering, supported by our reputation for operational reliability and customer service excellence, Aramex will have a strategic position serving the South East Asian economies, and connecting the emerging economic powers of Asia with the emerging African economies through the Middle East”.
Mr. Wook Heo, Managing Director and Head of the CJ GLS Global Headquarters, stated that “CJ GLS has combined its outstanding service capabilities acquired through its domestic door-to-door deliver businesses with the global network provided by Aramex, which allows CJ GLS to provide customers services with even greater speed and accuracy,” and anticipated that “this partnership with Aramex will serve as a bridgehead for expanding the international door-to-door delivery operations and launching new services in the Asian and African regions.”
Al Jeda added: “In the first phase of our partnership, we will be introducing our international express, and freight services and serving our customers in South Korea through our global network, spread across four continents and in 59 countries.”
Economic relations between South Korea and the Middle East and North Africa have been growing over the past decade with the Gulf Cooperation Council emerging as South Korea’s second biggest trading partner after China. According to figures released by the Korea International Trade Association, the volume of trade between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and South Korea reached US$ 113 billion in 2011 with exports from Korea to the GCC growing by a staggering 38.2% to reach US$ 17.3 billion.
