China Postal Service records first monthly profit in decades

ASIA PULSE 11th October 2001
CHINA POSTAL SERVICE RECORDS FIRST MONTHLY PROFIT IN DECADES

BEIJING, Oct 11 Asia Pulse – China’s postal sector has ended decades of loss, recording significant earnings for September. Liu Liqing, head of the State Post Bureau, said that the postal sector earned a profit of 160 million yuan (US$19.3 million) in September. This was a result of service-oriented reforms that the 500,000-employee strong postal sector has been undergoing since the beginning of the year. China Post has accelerated its EMS service with the rental of an additional eight planes, and it has formed alliances with telecommunications, insurance and goods distribution companies. It has also built a broadband network for internet services. Liu hopes that by 2005, earnings from the internet service will account for ten per cent of the sector’s total profit. The postal sector will also work to expand its goods distribution services, with the aim of becoming China’s top logistics service provider, Liu said. He added that his sector will also become one of the top six in the world over the next four years. (XIC)