DHL-Sinotrans, the leading express company in China, announced today an agreement with Guangzhou’s new Baiyun Airport to establish DHL-Sinotrans’ new Guangzhou Gateway. With this agreement, DHL-Sinotrans will become the first international express company to deploy operations at the new airport.

The new DHL-Sinotrans Guangzhou Gateway, with a total site area of nearly 3,500 square meters, will be operational in March 2006. The gateway will have a parcel and document sort capacity of 2,500 and 3,000 pieces per hour, respectively.

International trade in Guangdong province has enjoyed a sustained high rate of growth. In 2004, the total value of imports and exports exceeded US$357 billion, representing a growth of 26 percent over 2003. Guangdong accounts for almost 31 percent of China’s total value of imports and exports , the leading province in China. The new Baiyun Airport, with its greatly improved facilities and throughput capacity, will provide a significant boost to international trade, as well as the air express and logistics industry in the Pearl River Delta.

“The Pearl River Delta is one of the strategic markets for the Chinese express and logistics industry. As the leader of China’s air express industry, DHL-Sinotrans is determined to be the first-mover in grasping the opportunities offered by the New Baiyun Airport. Through immediate responses to the increasing market demands in the region, the newly built Guangzhou Gateway will further enhance our operational capabilities and performance in this market, in line with the rapid growth in this area.” noted Wu Dongming, Managing Director of DHL-Sinotrans.

Guangzhou is a key gateway for DHL-Sinotrans’ import and export operations in the Pearl River Delta, and also acts as a domestic transhipment hub for DHL-Sinotrans’ 17 branch office cities in South Area. In an effort to meet the strong demand for express services spurred by trade growth in the region, DHL-Sinotrans has chosen to build a new Guangzhou Gateway at the new Baiyun Airport. It is a key gateway designed to accommodate DHL’s anticipated growth and business requirements in Southern China, while providing the capability and capacity for both the air and ground operations for the domestic and international express operations.

The new Guangzhou Gateway features an advanced closed circuit television system, and will carry out streamlined operations in line with DHL’s global standards. It will operate with an in-house customs to streamline and speed up the clearance process for DHL’s customers. It will be a Technology Asset Protection Association (TAPA) certified facility, and it comes equipped with a state-of-the-art Quality Control Center for the monitoring and control of shipment movements in the entire Southern China area.

The establishment of the new Guangzhou Gateway forms part of DHL’s latest investment in China. In addition to establishment of the new Guangzhou Gateway, and the upgrade of its Pudong Gateway announced recently, DHL-Sinotrans will also significantly upgrade its facilities at Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Qingdao in 2006. Beijing Gateway will be upgraded in 2007 to meet logistics challenges of the coming Olympics. These moves will definitely cement DHL-Sinotrans’ leading position in China air express market.