DHL eyes north Asian hub at Pudong airport

DHL yesterday said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Airport Authority about creating a north Asian hub at the city's Pudong international airport.

The global logistics giant, owned by Deutsche Post, lags its two main rivals who have already committed themselves to building such hubs in the mainland - UPS also at Pudong airport and due to open next year and FedEx which began work in January on its US$150 million Asia-Pacific hub at Guangzhou's Baiyun airport.

DHL said no final decision had been reached and discussions were ongoing. The company opened a logistics centre at Pudong more than two years ago for its domestic courier service in the mainland.