Cainiao unveils three-year development road map for Brazil, as more Chinese firms target Latin America for growth

Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding, has announced a three-year development plan for Brazil and will open a headquarters for Latin America in Sao Paulo, as more Chinese companies look overseas for growth amid domestic economic headwinds.

Cainiao said on Monday that its local express delivery network now covers over 1,000 Brazilian cities, with consumers in Sao Paulo and other core cities able to receive local parcels delivered by Cainiao within a day in some cases.

“Through a partnership with Cainiao, more Brazilian brands will be able to capitalise on the extraordinary opportunities in the Chinese consumer market”, said Augusto Souto Pestana, president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

Brazil has become a popular destination for Chinese technology companies with Kuaishou Technology, China’s second-largest short video platform, setting its sights on Brazil as a major target for overseas expansion.

According to the 2021 eEbit Webshoppers report, the e-commerce industry in Brazil grew by 31 per cent in the first half of 2021. In 2020 alone, the number of online consumers increased by more than 40 per cent due to the pandemic and changing consumer preferences.

According to Alibaba’s road map, Cainiao will launch another nine distribution centres in seven states. In addition to that, 1,000 smart lockers will also be set up across 10 key cities in Brazil to serve as public facilities for intracity and cross-border deliveries, local express as well as food delivery services.