(Yicai) Jan. 16 -- Jiayou International Logistics said it has inked a deal with Uzbekistan National Railway Container Transport to build a globally competitive cross-border logistics service system.

Jiayou and the Uzbek company will maximize their resource advantages in railway transport and port hubs, the Beijing-based firm said late yesterday. The pair will create innovative logistics service projects, including combined sea and land transport, cooperate in developing new markets, and work on building a cross-border logistics information service platform, it added.

The tie-up will help Jiayou expand business in the Central Asian market while replicating its previous experience in logistics cooperation with other landlocked countries to a wider international market, it said.

Uzbekistan, which borders four other Central Asian nations and Afghanistan, has seen China become its largest trading partner and a major source of investment, with many trains between China and Europe and China and Central Asia passing through the country.

Shares of Jiayou [SHA: 603871] closed 0.5 percent lower at CNY18.55 (USD2.61) apiece today, after earlier dropping by as much as 2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent.

Uzbekistan National Railway Container Transport, a subsidiary of Uzbekistan National Railway, provides railway logistics services, including import and export container transportation, loading and unloading, and one-stop fee settlement and cargo clearance services, with an annual cargo handling capacity of more than six million tons, Jiayou noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev