Alibaba Group’s logistics arm Cainiao has teamed up with China Life Insurance Group in building an investment fund to allocate over 1.7 billion yuan ($239.3 million) in warehousing and logistics assets in China.
Hangzhou-headquartered Cainiao announced the launch of the new fund to invest in premium warehousing and logistics infrastructures, focusing on key cities in the Yangtze River Delta and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
These key cities include more developed metropolises and e-commerce hubs in eastern China, such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, as well as emerging eastern and central Chinese cities with high-quality warehousing and logistics facilities, including Nanjing, Nanchang, Wuhan, and Changsha.
Cainiao said in an announcement that the fund is tasked to invest in building a network of modern logistics hubs featuring “intelligence, green, and efficiency.”
Managed by China Life Capital, a fund management subsidiary of China Life, the new fund already attracted commitments from institutions like delivery company STO Express and multiple insurance firms, including AIA Group Limited, Chasing Jixiang Life Insurance, and Manulife-Sinochem, a joint venture (JV) between Canadian insurer Manulife and China’s Sinochem Finance.
To date, China Life Capital has managed over 30 investment vehicles, with more than 230 billion yuan ($32.4 billion) in cumulative assets under management (AUM).
This fund collaboration is built on Cainiao and China Life’s years of partnership from as early as 2017, when the duo set up what was one of China’s first RMB-denominated warehouse and logistics investment funds. The size of their first joint fund was not disclosed.
In May 2023, the two companies joined hands again in launching their second fund to invest about 3 billion yuan ($422.3 million) in warehousing and logistics facilities in the Yangtze River Delta. Chasing Jixiang Life Insurance and Manulife-Sinochem were among the LPs of the second fund.
Established in 2013, Cainiao has built a global smart logistics network across over 200 countries and regions, serving both Alibaba’s e-commerce businesses and third parties. Domestically, it operates approximately 90 logistics parks in over 30 Chinese cities.
For the fiscal year ended on March 31, 2025, Cainiao recorded nearly $14 million in revenue, up 2% from the previous fiscal year. Its revenue accounted for 10.2% of Alibaba’s $137.3-million group revenue, according to Alibaba’s financial report.
