China unveils plan to sell off postal service

China’s State Council is planning to turn postal service China Post into a USD10bn (GBP5.2bn) standalone company, in a move that will see one of the last bastions of the Communist regime sold off.

Under the plan, approved last week by the Chinese cabinet, the firm is to be transferred into a new state-owned business that will incorporate the post office’s savings operation.

This business is to be will be restructured separately into a fully fledged bank – which is to become China’s fifth largest, with deposits of 1.3 trillion yen (GBP85bn).

Observers believe it is unlikely that foreign investors will be permitted to buy a stake in the business. China Post delivered 7.35 billion letters in 2005.
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