HONG KONG?-- Damco, the logistics arm of the Copenhagen-based shipping conglomerate AP-Moller Maersk Group, will set up five new offices in West China this year, said Henriette Thygesen, the company's chief executive for North Asia.

"We expect China's logistics market to continue to develop rapidly," she said.

The company currently runs 19 offices on the Chinese mainland. The five new offices will be located in western and central China cities including Wuhan, Xi'an, Zhenzhou and Ying Chuan. In the meantime, Damco will also expand its airfreight capacity in the country. "We might set up additional offices later" when necessary, Thygesen added.

In 2011, Damco increased its airfreight services through the acquisition of NTS International Transport Services Co Ltd in China. During the same year, it also set up a customer service center in Chengdu, West China.

Damco is one of the 10 largest providers worldwide of freight forwarding and supply chain services. In 2011, the company saw a profit of $65 million compared with $44 million in the previous year, according to the Danish group.