--FILE--A pedestrian walks past the electric bike of a courier of SF Express in Beijing, china, 22 April 2012. Chinese private equity firm Citic Capital Holdings Ltd. is buying a minority stake in S.F. Express (Group) Co. Ltd., as it seeks to help a domestic delivery firm expand in a lucrative market in China that foreign companies have limited access to. The investment firm is part of a consortium, which includes state-owned conglomerate China Merchants Group, that is buying no more than 25% of the company, according to a Monday (19 August 2013) press release from Citic. Citic is investing through its first yuan-denominated fund, which so far has raised three billion yuan (US$490 million). S.F. Express is based in the southern city of Shenzhen and was founded in 1993. The firm provides delivery services to the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and has been expanding to Asia and the U.S.
