Government to shed its stake in MaltaPost
The government’s 40 per cent shareholding in MaltaPost is being offered for sale via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and MaltaPost shares will be quoted on the Malta Stock Exchange later this month.
At a news conference held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre early last week to announce the sale, Minister Austin Gatt succinctly explained, “The government’s business is government and not business.”
He said that the event was the final step in Maltapost’s privatisation process that had began five years ago resulting in a leaner and more efficient postal service that could operate on commercial lines. As a government entity the postal service was “expensive to run and resulted in taxpayers’ money being poured in,” he said. In the Maltese context, he believed it made sense to allow Lombard Bank, a strong and respected local financial institution, to take a majority stake “but we are now also providing an opportunity to the public to invest in this company by putting our remaining shares up for sale through this IPO,” he said. We did this with a purpose. A deal could have been struck to sell all the government’s shares to Lombard Bank, but this government believes in extending the public an opportunity to invest and that is why we are listing the shares on the stock exchange.”
The share offer is of 11,200,000 shares of a nominal value of e0.25c per share at a Share Offer Price of e0.50c per share. The offer is being made by the Malta government and Malta Government Investment Limited that currently own 40 per cent of the company. Maltapost market capitalisation is currently set at e14,000,000. The company is also to adopt a dividend policy of distributing up to 50 per cent of yearly available profits.
1 USD = 0.288408 MTL
The government’s 40 per cent shareholding in MaltaPost is being offered for sale via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and MaltaPost shares will be quoted on the Malta Stock Exchange later this month.
At a news conference held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre early last week to announce the sale, Minister Austin Gatt succinctly explained, “The government’s business is government and not business.”
“This should allow the government to pursue continued economic growth. At present, 70 per cent of the country’s labour force is employed by the private sector.”
He said that the event was the final step in Maltapost’s privatisation process that had began five years ago resulting in a leaner and more efficient postal service that could operate on commercial lines. As a government entity the postal service was “expensive to run and resulted in taxpayers’ money being poured in,” he said. In the Maltese context, he believed it made sense to allow Lombard Bank, a strong and respected local financial institution, to take a majority stake “but we are now also providing an opportunity to the public to invest in this company by putting our remaining shares up for sale through this IPO,” he said. We did this with a purpose. A deal could have been struck to sell all the government’s shares to Lombard Bank, but this government believes in extending the public an opportunity to invest and that is why we are listing the shares on the stock exchange.”
The press conference was also addressed by MaltaPost chairman Joseph Said who confirmed that the company’s main objective was that of remaining Malta’s foremost provider of postal services and to achieve this by extending the traditional range of products as well as keeping ahead of customers’ expectations and demands.
He stressed that MaltaPost and Lombard Bank would remain sensitive to the important role that the post office plays in the community. In this regard he confirmed that pensioners would soon be able to encash their pension cheques from certain MaltaPost branches, this being just one of the new ‘low cost’ financial services to be introduced.
Also MaltaPost was determined to raise the profile of Maltese philately as well as planning to enter the transport and logistics sector
Mr Said backed his statement by presenting to the conference statistics of service levels that were independently audited and which rated MaltaPost well ahead of its overseas counterparts.
Lombard Bank, he said, considered its investment in Maltapost as a strategic partnership presenting considerable synergy potential, resulting in significant added value for all customers, staff as well as investors.
The share offer is of 11,200,000 shares of a nominal value of e0.25c per share at a Share Offer Price of e0.50c per share. The offer is being made by the Malta government and Malta Government Investment Limited that currently own 40 per cent of the company. Maltapost market capitalisation is currently set at e14,000,000. The company is also to adopt a dividend policy of distributing up to 50 per cent of yearly available profits.
