Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings Bhd is setting up strategic alliances with private logistics and postal companies in East Asia to tap into the region’s courier market worth an estimated US$1.2 billion (RM4.56 billion) a year, says group managing director Datuk Ikmal Hijaz Hashim.

He said the company had identified its potential partners and hoped to seal the alliances and begin transporting packages for them in the first half of 2005. “We are currently looking at Thailand, South Korea, China and Hong Kong,” he said after the company’s EGM in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 16.

He said the alliances would see Pos Malaysia leveraging on it 20.3% stake in air transport firm Transmile Group Bhd, which has landing rights in various spots in Asean and East Asia.

Transmile is currently awaiting approval from US authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration, to fly to Los Angeles — which will enable it tap into the US$30 billion a year US overnight courier market in 2005.

Ikmal said Pos Malaysia expected revenue contribution from its courier business to increase next year due to robust economic activities, coupled with its drive to tap into the logistics business and its offer of multiple products and services.

He said the courier business currently contributed 20% to Pos Malaysia’s revenue, with Poslaju securing a 20% share of the local courier business. The domestic courier market was valued at RM800 million a year and had been growing at 15% annually, he said.

Ikmal also said that Pos Malaysia expected its bottom line to be positively impacted in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2005 by its recent Transmile Group share swap exercise. Under the share swap agreement, Pos Malaysia will trade its 30% stake in unlisted Transmile Air Services for 24.8 million Transmile Group shares priced at RM6.25 each or a total of RM155 million.

Pos Malaysia will acquire another 15.68 million Transmile Group shares at RM6.25 each for RM98 million, to raise its total shareholding to 20.3%. The subscription price of RM6.25 per share represents a discount of 10.4% or 73 sen to the five-day weighted average share price of Transmile Group up to July 26, 2004, which stood at RM6.98.

Source: The Edge Daily

Tags: Asia, China, Courier/Express/Parcels, Hong Kong, Korea, Mail Services, Malaysia, Malaysia Post, Pos Malaysia, Thailand