J&T Express CFO reveals how it’s beating logistics rivals

J&T Express’ IPO in October 2023 was Hong Kong’s second-largest of that year in terms of proceeds. For its CFO Dylan Tey, it was also one of his toughest decisions.

“The market was very, very soft,” he says in an exclusive interview with Tech in Asia. “I would say that a lot of foreign capital had abandoned the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the time.”

To make matters worse, Indonesia had banned TikTok Shop, one of J&T’s major customers, just a month before. Postponing the IPO was on the table. 

But Tey and his team decided to press on, pulling in over US$451 million from the listing. 

The move solidified J&T’s grip on Southeast Asia’s logistics market and helped it stay competitive in China, where it had launched operations in 2020. 

Founded in 2015 by former Oppo executives, J&T turned profitable for the first time in 2024, a feat that remains elusive for many of its Southeast Asian peers. 

But the road ahead is anything but smooth. Shopee and other marketplaces are bolstering their own logistics networks, upping the competition. At the same time, consumers in many of J&T’s major markets, including Indonesia and China, are tightening their belts.

Tey remains unfazed, confident that J&T’s scale gives it an edge. Last year, the courier delivered nearly 25 billion parcels – that’s equivalent to delivering about three parcels to every person on Earth.

“Southeast Asia plus China” strategy

Unlike other SEA firms, J&T has a rare foothold in cracking China. Founder Jet Li, a Chinese national who became a billionaire in 2023, previously led the Indonesia operations for Oppo. J&T had grown out of the consumer electronics brand’s in-house logistics network.

Zoom out, and J&T’s playbook in China and Southeast Asia is clear: partner up with ecommerce giants while offering the cheapest prices possible. In SEA, that meant Shopee. In China, it was Pinduoduo that came on board early.

Tey credits J&T’s ability to undercut rivals on price to its massive scale. In logistics, it’s simple: the more parcels you move, the cheaper it gets. In addition to China, J&T operates in seven countries across Southeast Asia, as well as in Latin America and the Middle East. 

See also: SEA logistics sees M&A, greentech action amid funding lull

China specifically operates on a different scale. Tey estimates that the average person there receives 124 parcels a year overall, compared to just 26 in Southeast Asia.

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