ZALL Smart Commerce Group (ZALL; 2098.HK), Asia’s largest B2B e-commerce group, today announced its results for the first half 2021 (January 1 – June 30, 2021). ZALL’s revenue rose by 40.3 per cent year-on-year to RMB 50.16 billion (US$7.76 billion), on the back of stronger Group operating capacity. Gross profit rose to RMB 607 million (US$93.96 million), an increase of 8.1 per cent year-on-year, and profitability remained stable.
Revenues from ZALL’s offline wholesale markets and online Industrial Internet platforms such as Shenzhen Sinoagri, ZALL Steel, and Huasuhui steadily increased, benefitting from the gradual increase of services in ZALL’s ecosystem, spanning wholesale trade markets, agriculture, steel, plastics and chemicals and other industries. Supply chain services such as finance, warehousing, and logistics also continued to empower upstream and downstream customers in the industry value-chain, laying a solid foundation for rapid growth.
Previously, ZALL embarked on a new strategic rebrand and is committed to becoming the world’s largest digital trade platform. The Group looks to incorporate “New Trading Methods” and use advanced digital technologies, such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain to achieve this goal.
Mr Qi Zhiping, CEO of ZALL Smart Commerce Group said: “ZALL will focus on innovation and the development of digital trade, leveraging data as the driving force to build a new B2B digital trade ecosystem and improve the efficiency of the industrial chain.”
New brands, New directions, New trends
During the first half of 2021, the Group saw a growth in customer loyalty as its industry vertical platforms such as Shenzhen Sinoagri, ZALL Steel, and Huasuhui expanded into subcategories to provide practical, efficient and convenient supply chain services for upstream and downstream customers in the industry value-chain:
– Shenzhen Sinoagri has been enhancing their online trading of cocoon silk, sugar, and expanded to include live pigs, corn, coffee and other product categories.
– ZALL Steel has successfully passed the CMMI3 international certification, and its SaaS cloud service was significantly upgraded.
– ZALL Steel Warehouse (Fengshan Port) was successfully inaugurated, and its supply chain service system was gradually improved.
– Huasuhui’s supply chain financial service “Plastic Loan” celebrated its first anniversary since its launch and has helped nearly a thousand Micro-, Small- and Medium-Enterprises (MSMEs), enabling a coordinated development ecosystem of industry and finance.
– Leveraging the service capabilities of ZALL’s intelligent trading ecosystem to interconnect domestic and international resources, Zallgo facilitates commodity trade flow between wholesale markets and commodities, creating a trillion-level market of commercial tools through digital empowerment, and is committed to becoming a super portal for industrial Internet transactions and services.
– ZALL’s offline flagship project, North Hankou International Trade Centre (“North Hankou”) actively promotes the integrated development of traditional commerce and live streaming e-commerce. The industry ecology of the live-streaming trade has started to develop, with orders happening at major specialised trading markets in an orderly manner, and the construction of 12 major projects of Wuhan International Trade City progressing smoothly after its upgrade. North Hankou is overall ranked second among China’s commercial markets, and is China’s largest and the world’s leading commercial and logistics platform.
ZALL has also established integrated online and offline development while contributing to China’s economic circulation. As a leader in global digital trade, ZALL established ZALL International Trade Group to service MSMEs that is committed to becoming a large-scale comprehensive import and export trade group that “buy from the world and sell to the world”. Its principal businesses include operating the national pilot market for foreign trade, comprehensive foreign trade services, and import and export trade. The Group’s commodities marketplace, Commodities Intelligence Centre (CIC) uses blockchain technology to provide one-stop cross-border B2B trade to support the entire process of commodity-related transactions, helping companies uncover new business opportunities, reduce transaction costs, and achieve greater trading synergies globally.
ZALL’s robust strategic layout and strong operating capabilities are highlighted in the integration of domestic and foreign trade, both online and offline, and the construction of an efficient supply chain service system. During the first half of 2021, ZALL continues to provide services such as smart warehouse logistics and supply chain finance. Powered by information technology, smart warehouse logistics uses Internet of Things (IoT) to integrate automation, informatization, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies for cargo delivery and storage applications, and has helped companies to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Supply chain financial services such as “factory loans” and “supply-guaranteed E-loans” use real-trading scenarios to promote enterprise innovation through the integration of industry and finance, optimizing the overall capital flow of the industrial supply chain, and improving circulation efficiency.
In addition, ZALL is committed to help companies kickstart their business growth through data technology. During the first half of the year, Wuhan City announced their first batch of 271 digital economy application scenario projects. Two solutions developed by ZALL Research Institute, a subsidiary of ZALL, were selected. They include “Banking Financial Product Data Mutual Trust Project based on Low Code Blockchain Solutions” and “Data Cross-Chain Platform based on Privacy Protection”. This has further enhanced commercial efficiency in the digital realm.
Coupled with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, as well as its extraordinary achievements in promoting the digitalisation of traditional enterprises, ZALL has been growing its influence in the field of digital trade for many years. These accomplishments have been widely recognised by the government, financial and industry leaders, media and the general public. During the first half of 2021, ZALL has consecutively won the best new economy award; the most value-added company award; Top 10 listed China Industrial Internet companies; Top 100 in China Industrial Internet (Industrial Digitalization); Hubei’s Best Hong Kong Stock Listed Company among other awards, and was ranked 155th in the Fortune China 500 list in 2021.
In 2020, ZALL achieved a revenue of RMB 72.769 billion (US$11.27 billion), in line with expectations. With steady growth of 40 per cent in 2021, ZALL is expected to achieve RMB 100 billion (US$15.49 billion) in revenue this year and reach the top echelon of the industrial digital trade industry. Through this process, ZALL intends to emerge as a leader in new trading methods, while maximising the value of digital trade, and becoming the world’s leading digital trade platform.
About ZALL Smart Commerce Group
ZALL Smart Commerce Group is a leading Chinese B2B e-commerce group (ranked 155th of Fortune China 500 companies) with a truly global footprint, and its companies trading worldwide: HKSE, NYSE, SSE and SZSE. ZALL Group develops and operates Asia’s largest B2B offline-to-online trade ecosystem, in China and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, with more than 30 B2B platforms in China, US and Singapore, and a GFA of more than 10 million sqm of wholesale trade centres in China. In 2018, ZALL Group achieved a GMV of more than RMB 600 billion (US$85.2 BN), serving over 1 million SME customers worldwide. ZALL has also obtained a virtual banking licence and currently operates Z-Bank in China since 2017, one of China’s Top 5 digital banks that has supported more than 5.5 million SME and individual customers.
Since 2018, ZALL has invested in five projects in Singapore, including the Commodities Intelligence Centre (CIC), Singapore’s first physical commodity eTrading platform (B2B) powered by blockchain technology; ezbuy.sg, Singapore’s leading global online shopping platform; ZMA Smart Capital, an online trade finance company; ZALL Chain Technology, a blockchain solutions company.