ASX-listed company Wiseway Group Limited announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Wiseway Logistics in Singapore has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of TAF E-Logistics (Asia).
Wiseway’s focus is on cross-border logistics including air freight, sea freight, import services, domestic transportation, warehousing and customs clearance services, to a large customer base of domestic and international customers across its two main segments, general cargo and perishable cargo.
TAF is a Singapore-based freight and logistics company with more than 30 years of operations serving Singapore and the American and South East Asian markets. The company had a revenue of S$1.7 million ($1.7 million) and a positive operating margin before tax for the year ended 31 December 2020, and as of 30 June 2021, it had S$1.1 million ($1.1 million) in net assets.
Wiseway will be acquiring TAF for S$1.1 million ($1.1 million) and an issue of 400,000 fully paid ordinary shares in Wiseway.
Wiseway managing director Florence Tong said, “We look forward to completing our first cross-border acquisition and welcoming TAF to our group. This is a strategic opportunity to establish on-the-ground presence in the heart of South East Asia’s freight and logistics hub and support our growth plans in the region.
“This in-country presence in Singapore will deliver valuable supply chain efficiencies to our operations in South East Asia and open new gateways for revenue synergies across our broad network of shipping destinations, especially within our key business divisions of air freight, perishables, and imports.”
TAF CEO Brandon Teo said, “We are confident that being part of a company with established global capabilities is the right next step for TAF and that together we can take advantage of the opportunities inherent in the South East Asian region.”
TAF, which has been IATA-licensed since 1990, provides a full range of services including customs brokerage and clearance, local transportation, and cross-border trucking between Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, in addition to international freight forwarding (air and sea) to Indonesia and other ASEAN countries.
TAF’s lean and experienced team of five full-time employees in sales, operations, finance, and warehouse management, will now become part of Wiseway’s on-the-ground team in Singapore.
Ms Tong said, “Singapore is a global shipping and air cargo hub and is already an integral shipping destination within our global network.
“This acquisition will uniquely fast-track the build-up of our local capabilities in South East Asia and place Wiseway on the doorstep of the region’s fastest growing economies including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.”
Wiseway’s expansion into Singapore follows earlier operational expansions across Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia Pacific, including established branches in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and a recent expansion of US operations through a new company branch in Los Angeles, California.
