Thai Postal may tie up with DHL, FEDEX
State-owned Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT), said yesterday that it will turn its loss-making postal unit to churn out profits within the next five years. Thai Postal, the postal service unit of CAT, has been incurring losses over the past few years and has been the stumbling block for privatisation of the CAT.
CAT vice-president Prajin Kecharananta said that the organisation would seek help from global freight giants such as Federal Express (FEDEX) and DHL, to find out ways to make its 1,300 branches productive over the next five years.
He said improving the quality of customer service was of priority, which could be achieved with partnerships with FEDEX and DHL.
Thai Postal is CAT’s other subsidiary besides CAT Telecommunications, which offers international long-distance services for Thailand. CAT has the monopoly over international long-distance in Thailand.
Last year, CAT’s postal unit suffered a loss of about 7 billion baht, Prajin said. In addition, CAT has been spending at least one billion baht a year subsidising the loss-making postal unit, Prajin added.
Prajin identified the relatively high production costs of postcards, envelopes, stamps, parcels and posts delivery services as factors contributing to Thai Postal’s losses.
The board of directors of CAT had asked the Cabinet’s endorsement for a proposal to raise the current price of domestic postage stamps to 3 baht, Prajin said. But the Cabinet has yet to take up the matter for consideration, he said. CAT has also begun allowing its clients to settle their public utility payments via its postal branches nationwide in an effort to boost business, Prajin said.
