Hongkong Post plans to make city an international mail-transit hub
Hongkong Post plans to make the city an international mail-transit hub to generate revenue and promote its world-class airport and logistics services.
It has already landed its first big client – the US Postal Service.
The self-financing government body, which is attempting to diversify, said it would also launch a one-stop service for customers to order and send mooncakes to mainland relatives for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chan Yau-fung, assistant postmaster general (postal), said Hongkong Post had been the transit hub for mail from the United States to Southeast Asian countries and Australia since March.
Under the agreement with the US Postal Service, mail was sent to the airmail centre in Chek Lap Kok before redistribution to flights to neighbouring countries.
“Our competitive edge is that we can provide an efficient transit mail service at a reasonable cost because flights coming in and out of our airport are frequent and reach a large number of destinations worldwide,” Mr Chan said.
Transit mailing is a common practice but the US agreement was Hong Kong’s first large-scale pact with another country. “Mail coming to Hong Kong in the morning can be delivered to its destination in one day, while in another country they may need to wait till the next day to board the second flight,” Mr Chan said.
Another attraction of the service was a track-and-trace computer system designed to allow US and future partners access to information on the whereabouts and expected arrival time of mail.
The collaboration was also an opportunity to promote the quality service of Hongkong Post and the city’s airport and logistics facilities.
“We have been actively promoting our edge as a transit hub for mail services worldwide in international postal conferences.”
A spokesman said they were particularly interested in courting long-distance partners such as European countries.
Hongkong Post, which faced an operational deficit of $53 million in the fiscal year 2002-03 and $83 million in the preceding year, is seeking ways to increase revenue.
The group said the 2002-03 deficit was caused by increased competition and a 6.3 per cent reduction in mail traffic.
Announcing the new mooncake service, a spokesman said: “We noticed that many people in Hong Kong liked to send moon cakes to their mainland relatives during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
“Customers just need to order the moon cakes at our post offices and we will do the delivery for them.”
A similar service for delivering cakes and flowers to the mainland was launched earlier this year.
