RIYADH: Saudi firm Ajex Logistics Services has announced the launch of two new services as a part of its expansion strategy into China and the Middle East. The services are the AJEX international e-commerce express, known as ICX, and AJEX international express service, called IXS. They will provide businesses in China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain with a portfolio of express cross-border delivery services for customers. “Introducing ICX and IXS services in China, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain is an important enhancement to our service portfolio, driven by our customers’ requirements for speed, reliability, and transparency,” said Ajex"s Chief Marketing & Experience Officer Nathalie Amiel-Ferrault. She added: “Saudi Arabia is the largest e-commerce market in the Middle East, and the end-consumers expect flexibility, late-night deliveries, and ease of payment, with cash-on-delivery representing more than 30 percent of e-commerce.” According to the report, customers will be able to send single-piece and multi-piece shipments from China to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain in four to seven days. Ajex is a joint venture between Ajlan & Bros Holding and SF Express. For Saudi Arabia, logistics is a crucial sector to achieve its goals outlined in Vision 2030, as the Kingdom is now diversifying its economy, which has been dependent on oil for several decades. Earlier in October, while speaking at the Supply Chain and Logistics Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Saleh Al-Jasser said that the Kingdom is working to inaugurate 59 logistic zones to bolster supply chains and logistic services. In June, in an exclusive interview with Arab News, Sulaiman Al-Mazroua, CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, noted that the Kingdom’s logistics sector needs a huge investment combined between the government and private sector by 2030. He added that Saudi Arabia would provide the right business environment to attract world transportation companies to operate in the Kingdom, which will help the nation emerge as one of the world’s busiest logistics centers.