Latvian Daily Diena Publisher gets postal license
The Latvian public services regulator decided to approve a postal license for Latvia’s a/s Diena, publisher of one of the country’s leading daily newspapers.
The company has been licensed to deal with express parcel and express mail correspondence throughout the territory of Latvia. The license is valid for one year.
Local and international letter mail services in Latvia fall under the monopoly held by the state-run Latvian postal company Latvijas Pasts.
President of Diena, Arvils Asaradens told the daily Dienas Bizness that the company is not yet, at least, gearing up to compete with Latvijas Pasts, but aims to only ensure direct correspondence of subscribed press and direct correspondence between clients, for example, delivery of invoices.
Asaradens said that no significant investments will be necessary for the plan, as the company’s subscription center network already covers it. Diena plans to start offering the postal services as of February 1 this year.
In January 2004, Diena was the second most subscribed national daily newspaper in Latvia with 41,160 subscriptions.
In early November last year the Latvian government supported amendments to the postal law, stating that after May 1, 2004, when the country joins the EU, the national postal company Latvijas Pasts will retain its monopoly rights over local and international letter mail weighing up to 100 grams, replacing the previous 2 kilogram limit. As of January 1, 2006, the monopoly limit will include only mail weighing under 50 grams.
