YTO Express plans to go public in 2015

Shanghai YTO Express (Logistics) Co, a leading private courier firm, is planning to float on the mainland capital market around 2015, which may make it the first private courier to get listed, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Wednesday.

The company has already signed an agreement with Shanghai-based accounting firm BDO International to prepare for its IPO, according to the report.

Lang Hongfei, a vice president at YTO Express, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the Global Times Wednesday, saying only that "many things are not mature yet."

Shanghai YTO Express was founded in 2000, and its services now cover over 1,600 cities in China, accounting for around 15 percent of the domestic courier market. In 2011, the company made 550 million deliveries, up 70 percent year-on-year, and the number for 2012 is expected to top 900 million, according to the report.

Xu Yong, chief consultant at China Express and Logistics Consulting, told the Global Times that China will see more courier firm IPOs after 2015, as the companies will need capital to expand and the industry will be more standardized by then.

"Besides better regulating its operation, YTO Express also needs to reduce the percentage of franchise stores in its network before the company starts the IPO process," Xu noted.

To expand its business, YTO Express introduced many franchise stores during its initial stage of development, which has led to problems such as irregularities in service quality.

The franchise stores also have accounting systems that are independent from the parent company, which could hinder the company's IPO process, according to Xu.

State-owned China Postal Express and Logistics Co, the country's largest courier service, received regulatory approval last year for an IPO in Shanghai, but to date has made no further moves.

Li Ling, an analyst with ChinaVenture Investment Consulting Group, noted that many companies that have received regulatory approvals have chosen not to float yet, as "the capital market is still volatile."

Wang Wei, president of SF Express (Group) Co, the largest private courier firm in China, said in 2011 that his company had no immediate plan to make a public offering.