Nippon Express Hong Kong earns CEPA authorization

Nippon Express (H.K.) Co., Ltd. (NEHK; Tsuyoshi Hayakawa, President), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Express Co., Ltd., was certified on April 7 as a Hong Kong service business under the Mainland & Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) by the Trade and Industry Department in the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

China presently requires foreign-affiliated companies in such sectors as logistics, international forwarding, and roadway transport to establish joint ventures with Chinese companies. With its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December 2001, though, China publicly pledged to follow a schedule of deregulation that would permit foreign companies to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries in roadway transport by December 2004 and in international forwarding by December 2005. The signing of the CEPA on June 29, 2003, however, made it possible for Hong Kong companies satisfying prescribed conditions to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries from January 2004 ahead of the deadlines set out in the WTO deregulation schedule.

To address the active logistics needs of Japanese companies and customers in China, Nippon Express believes it necessary to offer quick decision making and global service standards. Expansion of operations under the CEPA was considered an effective option to this end, and the requisite procedures were begun.

Obtaining CEPA certification was the first step in these procedures, and Nippon Express will endeavor to develop total logistics services even more directly linked to our customers.