Alibaba buying $693 million chunk of delivery company

   The Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba will invest about 4.66 billion Chinese yuan ($693 million) in the delivery company STO Express Co. Ltd, according to media reports.
   China’s Xinhua news agency said, “According to a statement released by STO Express on Monday, its controlling shareholder Shanghai Deyin Investment Holding Co. Ltd. will set up two new subsidiaries. Alibaba will invest 4.66 billion yuan and own 49 percent in one of the new subsidiaries. That subsidiary will own 29.9 percent stake in STO Express, and by extension, Alibaba will hold 14.6 percent.”
   Through the deal, Alibaba and STO will “deepen their collaboration in the transformation of China’s logistics industry,” the news service said.
   Reuters reported that STO is one of several companies that works with Alibaba’s logistics division Cainiao and that Alibaba also has acquired minority stakes in other courier companies including YTO Express Group Co. Ltd, Best Inc and ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.
   According to Xinhua, “In May last year, Alibaba’s delivery arm, Cainiao Network, said it would set up more global logistics bases to make its logistics network smarter and more efficient, ultimately aiming to be able to deliver anywhere in the world within 72 hours. In 2017, Alibaba Group also announced an investment of 100 billion yuan over five years to build a global logistics network.”