Tencent Denies Rumors of Negotiations with J&T Express to Raise $1 Billion

J&T Express is currently negotiating with Tencent Holdings to potentially raise $1 billion, The Information reported on September 1. J&T Express has not responded to this news yet, while Tencent announced on Wednesday that the rumor was not true.

According to a LatePost report on Tuesday, J&T Express started a new round of financing after the Chinese Spring Festival, aiming to raise $250 million. The goal has been achieved recently, and the funds will be mainly used to explore overseas markets such as the Middle East and Latin America. J&T Express completed financing of $1.8 billion in April, which was led by Boyu Capital, followed by Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital.

J&T Express, founded in Indonesia in 2015, has become the second largest express delivery company in Southeast Asia in just four years. The firm started operating in China in March 2020. Higher subsidies and a cooperation with Pinduoduo have stabilized the daily order volume in China at more than 20 million. During the 618 Shopping Festival this year, the daily order volume of J&T Express at one point exceeded 30 million.

In order to create new growth sources, J&T Express has turned its attention to the Middle East and Latin American markets, focusing on three populous countries –Egypt, Brazil and Mexico – and two countries with higher per capita income: The UAE and Saudi Arabia. The population of these countries is huge, with a total of nearly 500 million people. A former employee of J&T Express’s international business department said that the company will establish a nationwide distribution network in these countries early next year at the latest.

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