More than a decade since it was founded during the short-lived dot-com boom, Tom Group appears to have landed a deal that could anchor its future growth.
Tom, the diversified Chinese-language media arm of Li Ka-shing's business empire, last week announced a joint-venture agreement with China Post that aims to create the mainland's biggest e-commerce services provider.
That venture, Beijing Ule E-Commerce, will be formally unveiled in the capital today, creating an industry benchmark for the fast-growing online retail market.
Its potential is certainly huge, based on the sheer scale of China Post's existing infrastructure.
It is the kind of nationwide set-up that major domestic shopping platforms, such as Taobao and Amazon China, do not possess.
With a network of 46,000 post offices, 36,000 Postal Savings Bank branches, 150,000 workers, 56,000 delivery vehicles and 17 aircraft, China Post will provide the sales channels, warehousing, logistics support and transaction fulfilment for its 51 per cent-owned joint venture.