Year: 2007

Vietnam Post office goes it alone from New Year’s Day

Posted by | Dec 28, 2007 | |

The Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunication Group (VNPT) has been split into posts and telecommunication divisions.

The long-prepared divide was formally approved on Wednesday and the Viet Nam Postal Corporation will be launched next Tuesday, January 1, 2008.

It will retain all of its fixed assets and manage State post offices throughout Vietnam.

The corporation will provide public welfare services to remote Vietnam and manage the national postal network, including domestic and international postal services, and press publications.

The VNPT will manage the national communications network as well as information and communication services.

The split is intended to enable a better management of postal and telecommunications services and help both to develop.

Viet Nam Postal Corporation general director Do Ngoc Binh said the corporation would try to expand its business and balance revenue and expenditure by 2010, and then gradually turn a profit.

Vietnam’s prime-minister-approved five-year Postal Development Master Plan provides for an increase of postal-service sites to 13,500 by the end of 2010.

The plan requires the Postal Corporate to ensure that all communes, including remote and highland, have daily newspaper deliveries.

But it will get State help for its public-welfare work.

Postal services provided VNPT with only 5 pct of its to total revenue.

The new corporation intends to expand providing pension payments, insurance services and the collection of electricity, telephone and water fees.

The Government is seeking both domestic and international investment for the development of its transmitting services.

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Second anniversary of the liberalisation of the UK postal market

Posted by | Dec 28, 2007 | |

Postcomm has found competition in its second year is starting to benefit more and more mail users, but has urged all operators to rise to the challenges posed by the digital age.

Research commissioned by Postcomm in 2007 found the benefits that large mailers have been experiencing since the market was opened have now started to slowly spread to smaller businesses. However, much more progress is needed and the challenge posed by the growing number of alternatives to mail confirms the need for mail operators to continue to pursue greater innovation.

The market research, which formed part of Postcomm’s annual Business Customer Survey, revealed that although Royal Mail remains the dominant operator, one in five small and medium mailers and more than a third of large mailers are using more than one mail provider.

Postcomm’s annual Competitive Market Review (CMR), found that mail volumes were 2 per cent down on last year, but there are indications that direct mail is growing in sectors such as building societies, charity, and health.

End-to-end competition has declined by four million items and stands at less than one per cent of total mail volume, but mail volumes collected by ‘access’ operators and delivered by Royal Mail have more than doubled and now represent 19 per cent of revenue-derived mail volumes.

The research shows that a larger number of small businesses are beginning to benefit from competition, but much more needs to be done before small firms can experience the full benefits of competition that larger mailers have seen since the market was opened.

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Spanish Correos to increase stamp prices in 2008

Posted by | Dec 28, 2007 | |

Correos has increased its stamp prices by 1 cent for domestic standard letters in 2008 with effect 1 January 2008.

Letters and post cards up to 20 grams sent within the country will now have to be stamped with EUR 0.31 instead of EUR 0.30, while items between 20 and 50 grams will cost EUR 0.43 instead of EUR 0.42.

The prices for international letters and postcards will stay the same for letters up to 50 grams within Europe and the rest of the world. The prices for international shipments surpassing 1 kg as well as international parcel products and business parcels destined to main European countries will be reduced in 2008.

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FedEx Express CEO sells and acquires shares

Posted by | Dec 28, 2007 | |

FedEx Express president and CEO David J. Bronczek has sold 50,000 shares of FedEx Corp. common stock and acquired 50,000 shares.

According to a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the transactions were completed on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27.

The shares were sold in quantities ranging from 100 to 10,900 at prices ranging from USD 92.04 to USD 92.24. 2,885 shares with a value of USD 0 also were listed has having been disposed.

The acquired shares of FedEx stock were bought in one transaction at a price of USD 31.98 per share.

Separately, Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman acquired 239 FedEx shares for USD 92.19, according to a Form 4 filed with the SEC. Loveman now has a total of 394 shares in the Memphis package shipper.

Shareholders of FedEx Corp. in September elected Loveman, chairman, president and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., to the corporation’s board of directors for a one-year term.

Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies’ shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction.

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FedEx Freight, FedEx National LTL announce general rate increase

Posted by | Dec 28, 2007 | |

FedEx Freight, a U.S. provider of regional next-day and second-day less-than-truckload (LTL) service, and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., will implement a 5.48 percent general rate increase (GRI) effective January 14, 2008. Additionally, FedEx National LTL, the long-haul LTL company, will implement a commensurate increase for its general rates.

Rates for other operating companies within FedEx Corp., specifically FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, are not affected.

In 2007, FedEx Freight improved service standards in key markets throughout the U.S., and reduced transit times in more than 1,000 transportation network lanes. Additionally, FedEx National LTL re-engineered its network to provide long-haul shippers with higher levels of reliability and certainty. FedEx National LTL was created in September 2006 when FedEx acquired the business assets of the former Watkins Motor Lines.

Carey also noted that FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL have taken a leadership role in the purchase of safe and more environmentally sensitive equipment. “It’s our goal to take necessary steps to benefit our employees, customers and the communities in which we live and work.”

The GRI increase will apply to interstate and intrastate traffic, and certain shipments between the United States and Mexico and Canada. Various additional adjustments will include minimum and accessorial charges, as well as adjustments in fuel surcharges and select lanes and service areas.

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PostEurop call Council of the European Union to resume negotiations on VAT legislation for postal services

Posted by | Dec 27, 2007 | |

The postal industry needs a reliable VAT legislation. The 6th VAT Directive no longer provides for legal certainty as demonstrated by the infringement procedures most recently launched by the European Commission. Moreover, taking into account the changes that the industry has undergone in the past 10 years, modernizing VAT regulations seems reasonable.
On May 5th 2003, the European Commission issued a “proposal for a directive amending directive 77/388/EEC as regards VAT on services provided in the postal sector” (COM/2003/234).
It provides for equal treatment of postal services in term of taxation. It also introduces an option to apply reduced VAT rates for certain postal services with the intention to limit any increase in postal prices due to the introduction of VAT.
On March 11th 2004, the European Parliament agreed to the introduction of VAT in public postal services. The European Parliament has proposed to make the application of a reduced rate mandatory.
The deliberations (2 July 2003 to 15 June 2004) within the Council failed in the absence of the required unanimity and negotiations have been suspended for about 3 years now.
On 23rd March 2006, the European Commission launched infringement proceedings by sending letters of formal notice to the UK, Sweden and Germany on the VAT application of postal services.
The rules governing the application of VAT should not be left to finally decisions by the ECJ based on an interpretation of the 6th VAT Directive (dating back to 1977). The decision how to apply VAT on postal services is essentially a political one and therefore needs to be agreed upon by the Council.

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ABX Air to provide two freighter aircrafts to DHL Network

Posted by | Dec 27, 2007 | |

ABX Air has agreed to provide two of its 767-200 freighter aircraft in support of DHL’s U.S. air network during 2008.

The agreement covers two 767-200 freighter aircraft that are not among ABX Air’s 29 767s already dedicated to DHL service. One of the two 767-200s will initially be operated in support of DHL through June 2008 with an opportunity to extend the term, and the second for the full year.

One of them has operated on behalf of DHL for most of 2007 under an agreement that expires at the end of this year.

Starting in 2008, DHL will pay ABX a fixed monthly fee for the aircraft and certain airframe maintenance expenses. Additionally, DHL will reimburse ABX Air with a mark-up for flight crew, maintenance and other expenses associated with operating the aircraft.

Wilmington, Ohio-based ABX Air is an air cargo services provider operating out of Wilmington and fourteen hubs throughout the United States. In addition to providing airlift capacity and sort facility staffing to DHL, ABX Air is a Part 121 operator and holds a Part 145 FAA Repair certificate.

The company provides charter, maintenance and package handling services to a group of customers.

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Postal charges to be raised from Jan 1

Posted by | Dec 27, 2007 | |

The government has decided to raise postal charges from January 1.

The decision was made at a meeting of the council of advisers chaired by the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, at his office on Wednesday.

From January 1, Bangladesh Postal Department will sell a post card at Tk 1.50 instead of Tk 1 and envelop at Tk 3 instead of Tk 2.

Besides, an additional 20 per cent service charge will be added to the actual cost of all foreign mails. The meeting approved a proposal for the signing of an additional protocol between Bangladesh and Qatar to facilitate more manpower export to Qatar. One of the key objectives of signing the protocol is to upgrade a treaty to this effect signed in January 1988 between the two countries.

The additional protocol will be signed in Dhaka in the first week of next month during the visit of a high-level delegation led by the labour and social affairs minister of Qatar.

1 USD = 68.3000 BDT

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