Maltapost privatisation latest red-letter day in postal history

The successful sale to the public of government shares in Maltapost is the latest salient episode in Malta's postal history which, some researchers say, is unrivalled by any other country of an equivalent size.

Despite the lack of precise knowledge on the origins of mail in Malta, the work of a number of dedicated postal historians has contributed towards piecing together information that can enlighten postal enthusiasts on the happenings throughout the centuries, going back to the Order of St John.

Circa 1891: Police stations in 27 mainland villages were permitted to sell postage stamps thus becoming postal agents.

1894: As part of its re-organisation to improve postal services, the General Post Office creates postal districts and re-classifies letter carriers and auxiliaries into First Class and Second Class Postmen who were also given a personal hand stamp to mark all letters on the back before delivery.

September 13, 1897: The first hand stamp bearing the name Valletta CO was introduced.

August 1899: Five values of the postage stamps of 1885 issued for fiscal use.

July 10, 1900: 28 single circular date stamps are despatched to Malta from the GPO in London for use in the villages in Malta and Gozo.

1903-14: Various stamp issues were released between these dates, notably; the King Edward VII head issues of 1903-04, 1904-06 and 1907-11 showing the profile of the king. King George V definitive stamps were not issued until 1914 when the King Edward VII stamps ran out.

March 1919: The GPO released for sale the 10/- Black Stamp inscribed Postage And Revenue, depicting St Paul's Shipwreck, nowadays considered by philatelists as Malta's rarest and most expensive stamp in a Malta collection.

1921: The Post Office set-up was reorganised towards the latter part of 1921 where all the village hand stamps were withdrawn.

1922: The Melita Definitives set of postage stamps to commemorate self-government to Malta in 1921 was issued.

1931: Direct flights from Malta become possible.

1935-1963: The Malta Post Office issued various commemorative stamps, which were also emulated by a good many British colonies.

April 24, 1942: Palazzo Parisio, the headquarters of the General Post Office, is hit by enemy action and the GPO transfers its activities to ¨¤amrun primary school at Villambrosa Street.

1954-1981: After World War II life started returning to normal and in less than a decade the Post Office had to start expanding its network to deal with the deluge of correspondence and the growing demand for its services. Branch post offices were opened permanently in various localities.

September 1957-1979: Over a 23-year period, artist Emvin Cremona designed some of the most noteworthy Maltese stamps covering historical events, renowned Maltese and foreign personalities, purely abstract forms and 16 Christmas sets comprising 62 sets of stamps.

November 12, 1963: The Parcel Post Office is relocated to a new building in Victory Square, Valletta.

July 4, 1973: After 87 years housed within Palazzo Parisio in Merchants Street, the General Post Office is relocated to the Auberge d'Italie and the Central Mail Room, the registered letter branch and the Poste Restante were relocated to the previous Garrison Chapel, Castille Place, which now houses the Malta Stock Exchange.

1994: The British Postal Consultancy Service recommends to the Malta Government that the postal services should be run commercially.

October 1, 1995: Posta Ltd is set up to run the General Post Office.

October 1997: The Parcel Post Office, the Central Mail Room, the Philatelic Bureau and the Postal Administration were transferred to 305, Qormi Road, Marsa. The Valletta counter services start to operate from Dar Annona in Castille Place.

May 1, 1998: Postal services, run by Posta Ltd, a private limited company, are taken over by a new public limited company Maltapost plc.

January 31, 2002: Maltapost plc is partially privatised with the Maltese government selling 35 per cent to Transend Worldwide Ltd, a subsidiary company of New Zealand Post Ltd with a view to prepare the company to meet the EU postal directives and further liberalisation of the postal market.

September 6, 2007: The government sells 25 per cent of its shareholding to Lombard Bank plc where Lombard Bank effectively became the majority shareholder in Maltapost plc with 60 per cent shareholding. The government undertakes to sell to the public the remaining 40 per cent of shares it owns by floating them on the Malta Stock Exchange.

January 8, 2008: The government announces the sale of 40 per cent of its shareholding in Maltapost in an initial public offering.