China Post Securities released a research report expressing optimism regarding the business collaboration between SF Holding and J&T Express following their proposed cross-shareholding, which will aid Chinese logistics enterprises in expanding globally and capturing international value. As Chinese logistics firms continuously increase their investments in overseas resources and grow through ongoing competition and cooperation, they are ultimately poised to become formidable competitors in the global logistics industry. The report recommends S.F. Holding Co., Ltd. (06936) and suggests keeping an eye on J&T Express-W (01519). The key points from China Post Securities are outlined below.
S.F. Holding and J&T Express announced on the morning of January 15, 2026, that S.F. Holding plans to issue 226 million H shares to J&T Express or its designated entity at HKD 36.74 per share, representing approximately 4.29% of S.F. Holding's total share capital post-issuance. Concurrently, J&T Express intends to issue 822 million Class B shares to S.F. Holding at HKD 10.10 per share, accounting for roughly 8.45% of J&T Express's total share capital after the issuance. When combined with S.F. Holding's pre-existing holdings of J&T Express Class B shares, S.F. Holding is expected to hold approximately 10.00% of J&T Express's total share capital post-transaction.
Each company possesses distinct strengths in cross-border resources, establishing a solid foundation for cooperation. S.F. Holding is Asia's largest and the world's fourth-largest comprehensive logistics service provider. Beyond maintaining leadership in domestic time-definite express delivery, it has extensive business布局 overseas, particularly holding relative advantages in cross-border trunk line resources and overseas warehousing. In the first eleven months of 2025, S.F. Holding's international and supply chain business revenue reached RMB 65.79 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.5%. J&T Express has been expanding aggressively in overseas markets, especially in Southeast Asia, where its deeply penetrated last-mile pickup and delivery network has capitalized on rising e-commerce penetration to achieve rapid growth. The company also shows strong growth momentum in new markets like the Middle East and Latin America. In 2025, J&T Express's parcel volume in Southeast Asia reached 7.66 billion, and in new markets, it hit 404 million parcels, representing year-on-year growth of 67.8% and 43.6%, respectively. In the first half of 2025, J&T Express held a market share exceeding 30% in the Southeast Asian market. S.F. Holding already held shares in J&T Express prior to its IPO. Furthermore, J&T Express acquired S.F. Holding's Fengwang business before its own listing, indicating a precedent for collaboration between the two. In the process of expanding their cross-border logistics footprint, building trunk lines or last-mile networks from scratch requires substantial upfront investment, and redundant investments by multiple firms could create unnecessary competitive pressure. Therefore, a deep collaboration leveraging their respective current advantages presents a practical and logical step forward.
The cooperation between the two companies is expected to advance profoundly, aiding the global expansion of Chinese logistics. If the cross-shareholding proceeds smoothly, the future could see them complementing each other's strengths in the cross-border logistics market through deep collaboration. By synergizing S.F. Holding's advantage in trunk line resources with J&T Express's strength in last-mile networks, they can enhance the quality of logistics products and services and improve the stability of delivery times. They may also explore collaboration in logistics infrastructure and network construction across more global regions, aiming to provide high-quality, integrated comprehensive logistics services and increase the value of the industrial chain. This direction also aligns with one of the core objectives of China's "16th Five-Year Plan" for the postal industry – to enhance the capability and level of international delivery services, with a focus on strengthening the construction of "trunk line-transit-warehousing-delivery" capabilities.
Risks include macroeconomic downturn, intensifying competition in the express delivery sector exceeding expectations, potential setbacks in the overseas expansion of express delivery companies, and regulatory risks.
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