This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 16, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: GD Express Carrier Bhd (GDEX), which has been on the hunt for a last mile delivery partner in Vietnam for the past three years, is taking up a 50% stake in Vietnamese courier and logistics service provider, Noi Bai Express and Trading Joint Stock company (Netco), for 76.73 billion dong (RM13.83 million).

The group said the proposed acquisition, to be funded with internal funds, is in line with its regional ambition to build a sustainable Southeast Asia delivery network to better serve the community. "The expansion into Vietnam is the continuation of such effort after Indonesia," it said in a stock filing yesterday.

The group has inked a share sale and purchase agreement with three vendors - Nguyen Duc The, Trieu Lan Huong and Nguyen Duc Hau - for the stake buy. On completion of the agreement, GDEX would be Netco's largest shareholder.

It expects the agreements to be completed by January 2020, subject to approvals from relevant authorities, adding that the acquisition should contribute positively to its future earnings.

GDEX shares closed unchanged at 28.5 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of at RM1.61 billion. In the past one year, the stock has declined over 28%.