FedEx has won approval to operate in 20 more mainland cities and three other foreign couriers have been granted licences to operate on the mainland, as Beijing further loosens its grip on the booming logistics market. Japan's Yamato Transport, Britain's Overseas Courier Service and Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics are permitted to deliver packages on the mainland, the first time that such consent has been given to foreign companies since 2012, the State Post Bureau said on its website yesterday. They join US-based FedEx and United Parcel Service as the five foreign licensees now in the market. FedEx's expanded network covers 68 mainland cities. The bureau's decision follows a State Council pledge in September to open up the express parcel delivery market to foreign firms, in a bid to force domestic companies to improve services. The foreign operators remain excluded from mail dispatch, which is dominated by state-run China Post. The firm chalked up 14.5 billion yuan (HK$18.3 billion) in revenue in 2013 from delivering mail nationwide, its annual report shows. Driven by a boom in online shopping, the mainland's express parcel delivery market has grown in recent years. Some 12.3 billion packages were dispatched in the first 11 months of 2014, compared with 3.7 billion in 2011, official statistics show. The e-commerce market is projected to grow from 184 million yuan in 2013 to 445 million yuan in 2017, accounting for 12.4 per cent of total retail sales on the mainland, according to internet consultancy iResearch.