Yang Kee Logistics Pte Ltd (“Yang Kee”) is pleased to announce that with International Enterprise (IE) Singapore’s partnership and support, it has successfully completed an acquisition of Axima Pty Ltd (“Axima”), an Australian based company. The overseas acquisition will significantly improve its overall profitability and boost Yang Kee’s revenue by another S$150 million, significantly increasing its revenue share outside of Singapore. The combined group will have a headcount of over 650 employees across 11 countries in which it operates.
Yang Kee is currently focused on contract logistics, freight forwarding, and transport and yard services with strong regional presence across South East Asian markets including Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand. This strategic acquisition will drive the future growth of Yang Kee’s international freight business by extending its footprint to huge developed markets such as Australia, China and the US. This will strengthen its position in key trade lanes, deepen its freight management capabilities, and expand its service offerings to customers.
Axima brings with them world class international freight management capabilities as a key player in Australia’s third party logistics market, with presence in all major Australian gateways. It also has a strong position in the US as well as China, having a trusted network in all major Chinese ports.
“I am confident that the customers of both Yang Kee and Axima will greatly benefit from increased geographical reach and strengthened capability in both Freight Forwarding as well as Contract Logistics. Our collective operations will now cover the main Joint Media Release gateways in Australia, China, Hong Kong, South East Asia and the US,” said Mr Ken Koh, Group CEO of Yang Kee Logistics.
IE Singapore has been a key partner in Yang Kee’s journey to grow exponentially and be a global player in the logistics field. Working closely with Yang Kee on Merger & Acquisitions (“M&A”) for new markets, IE Singapore is helping the company gain in-roads into established business networks and build capabilities in contract logistics.
Said Mr Law Chung Ming, Group Director for Transport & Logistics, IE Singapore, “The dynamic development of global trade flows and supply chains means that logistics service providers need to act swiftly to capture business opportunities. IE Singapore is working closely with companies like Yang Kee Logistics to adopt inorganic approaches such as M&A to grow in international markets. We are glad to see this win-win partnership being realised as it allows a high growth SME like Yang Kee to expand its market and gain new capabilities, helping it become globally competitive.”
IE Singapore supported Yang Kee Logistics in its M&A due diligence, feasibility studies and other professional services for Australia, US, and New Zealand. IE Singapore has also been crucial in opening new doors for Yang Kee by initiating and introducing right connections and partners that fit and synergise with the business development strategies of the company. IE Singapore will continue to work with Yang Kee to enhance its foothold in Australia and New Zealand, and in key sectors such as food and consumer products, where Yang Kee’s end-toend connectivity will enhance the reliability and efficiency of the supply chain.
As Yang Kee continues to expand its global footprint, the company believes that the acquisition will provide more career development opportunities for its existing employees, including Singaporeans. It also estimates a yearly headcount growth rate of 5%. With that, Yang Kee sees increasing importance and necessity to have a robust and global recruitment HR strategy. It worked with IE Singapore to develop its international manpower strategy to build a global team to support the human capital needs strategically across the world, with Yang Kee’s headquarters in Singapore setting the standards and best practices.
“This acquisition is an important milestone in Yang Kee’s growth journey towards our vision for 2020. As the logistics sector is still fairly fragmented, we continue to see many opportunities for growth in targeted sectors such as fashion, food, healthcare and petrochemicals,” added Mr Ken Koh.