(Yicai Global) March 29 -- Cainiao Network, the logistics unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, is partnering with Hong Kong Air Cargo to begin services to Southeast Asia to meet growing demand for e-commerce logistics in the region.

Under the first phase, seven flights will depart from Hong Kong to Manila each week, along with three to Kuala Lumpur and six to Bangkok, the pair said in a joint statement today. The expanded cargo capacity will deliver roughly a quarter million parcels a week.

E-commerce goods are usually transported from the Chinese mainland to sorting centers in Hong Kong before being shipped out to Southeast Asia. But with the new routes, they can be moved directly to Cainiao’s logistics hub near Hong Kong airport to shorten delivery times. 

The flights are expected to cut delivery times by 60 percent, 28 percent and 42 percent for goods shipped to the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, respectively. Customers in these countries buying from platforms such as Lazada, Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform serving Southeast Asia, will be able to receive parcels from China's mainland in as little as three days.

The new flights will create “a seamless logistics network that will improve efficiency and reduce shipping time,” Zhao Jian, general manager of Cainiao Global Supply Chain, said in the statement. They will also benefit merchants and consumers, he added.

“As one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world, Southeast Asia is projected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 23 percent to reach USD172 billion in 2025,” Zhao said. Cainiao will also expand its air freight network to more countries and regions “to achieve our goal of delivering globally within 72 hours.”

Cainiao announced in June 2018 that it would invest HKD12 billion (USD1.54 billion) to build an eHub logistics center at Hong Kong International Airport. The company is also building such hubs in Hangzhou and Yiwu in China as well as in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Moscow, and Liege in Belgium.

Editor: Tom Litting