KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 12): AirAsia Group Bhd’s logistics tech venture Teleport has partnered with Cainiao, the logistics arm of Alibaba, to deliver cross-border orders made on the latter’s e-commerce platform Tmall Taobao.

The partnership will initially start from Shenzhen and Canton in China to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, the main hub in East Malaysia, AirAsia said in a statement on its website.

The cargo-only flight consisting of orders from Tmall departed from Shenzhen, China to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah yesterday on 11.11 or Double 11, the biggest sale event of the year.

“Teleport having worked closely with Cainiao previously for chartered cargo-only flights, it only seems fitting to continue this as a long-term partnership to deliver parcels across China to East Malaysia. By tapping into Teleport’s robust technology (API) integration between the two platforms and AirAsia’s regional network, we can enable e-commerce delivery across Southeast Asia from multiple cities in China,” said Pete Chareonwongsak, CEO of Teleport.

Kenny Wu, director for Tmall Export Line Haul Logistics at Cainiao, said, “The establishment of a direct Malaysia-China e-Commerce logistics service is a continued affirmation of our investment into the region. With the rise in eCommerce and cross-border trade activities, delivery efficiency will become increasingly crucial for business success and the growth of economies.

"This partnership with Teleport will help to streamline customs clearance and improve freight stability as we continue to work towards our goal of delivering globally within 72 hours.”

At 4.44pm, AirAsia’s share price rose 2 sen or 3.1% to 66.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.26 billion.