Tag: Asia

Further consolidation in Korean express market

Posted by | Sep 19, 2008 | |

Consolidation has intensified in the Korean express market with this week’s acquisition by Hanjin of rival Shinsegae, making it into the new domestic market leader ahead of Korea Express and Hyundai.

Hanjin spent 30 billion won (EUR 18.7 million) to buy Shinsegae Dream Express, part of the Shinsegae retail group, the Yonhap news agency reported. Shinsegae Dream Express made a loss of 3.3 billion won (EUR 2 million) on sales of 96.7 billion won (EUR 60 million) last year.

The acquisition would put Hanjin Express ahead of Korea Express, which ended 2007 with sales of 293 billion won (EUR 182 million), and Hyundai Express which had sales of 286 billion won (EUR 178 million). The next largest operator is CJ GLS, with revenues of 184 billion won (EUR 115 million). The four market leaders are estimated to have about 60% pct of the domestic parcel delivery market.

Earlier this year UPS bought full control of its international express joint venture with Korea Express by acquiring the latter’s 40 pct stake in the venture. UPS said the transformation of the joint venture to a wholly-owned subsidiary would allow it to grow its business in Korea and better serve its customers in a key market.

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DHL, PosLaju to jointly offer express service (Malaysia)

Posted by | Sep 18, 2008 | |

Express couriers DHL and PosLaju have jointly launched Pospriority Express, a premium international express delivery service.

The service, jointly developed and marketed by DHL and PosLaju, is aimed at customers from the retail sector as well as small and medium enterprises.

The company expects the new service to boost its international shipments by 20 pct from the initial five participating PosLaju outlets.

DHL Express (Malaysia and Brunei) Country Manager Sam Leong said the collaboration was a significant milestone.

Under the agreement signed yesterday, DHL will provide customer service and after-sales support as well as 24-hour tracking services.

The Pospriority Express service will initially be available at five selected PosLaju outlets located at Kompleks Dayabumi, Brickfields, Klang, Penang and Johor Bahru.

By the second quarter of next year, it will be rolled out nationwide.

Pospriority Express offers five kg, 10kg and 25kg box options.

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Rural post offices look to tie-ups for survival (Japan)

Posted by | Sep 15, 2008 | |

With many small post offices being forced to close in rural regions due to lack of business, Japan Post is pinning its hopes on teaming up with other companies to improve access to the postal network.

On Friday (12th September), Japan Post Network Co. of the Japan Post group and Lawson Inc., a major convenience store chain, opened a post office in a Lawson outlet in Sakakimachi, Nagano Prefecture, as part of this effort.

As it is likely that calls will mount for a review of postal privatization depending on the result of the next general election, post offices also hope the move toward such partnerships could head off public criticisms about falling levels of service, business analysts said.

Small regional post offices in rural areas, hit by declining populations, have been closing one after another in recent years. As of the end of August, 433 such post offices, or more than 10 percent of the total, had closed.

In addition to a decrease in customers, rural post offices also have been forced to close because managers have been aging, and local governments and agricultural cooperatives that were consigned to manage the post offices have dropped out of the business as they have restructured.

When postal privatization was discussed in the Diet, lawmakers attached a resolution calling for maintenance of the nationwide post office network.

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Postal chief lifts hopes by ruling out price hikes

Posted by | Sep 12, 2008 | |

Hong Kong Post has no plans to increase charges.

Postmaster General Tam Wing-pong made the promise while reporting last year’s total postal volume increased 6percent, netting a profit of about HKD 400 million.

The registered airmail service recorded the highest increase – 21 percent.

But Tam estimated that both figures would shrink, though not significantly, in the coming year given economic fluctuations and fierce competition.

With soaring oil prices and international calls to increase terminal dues, Tam said there is pressure to raise postal charges, and warned that the HKD 470 million 2006-07 profit would shrink to HKD 400 million for the next period.

Tam added that Hong Kong Post will develop other revenue streams such as e-commerce.

To maintain postal volume, Hongkong Post will spend about HKD 2 million on a one-stop e-commerce platform in November when customers may buy products from recognized retailers, with the department providing postal services such as logistics and mail delivery.

Tam hopes to attract customers from all over the world to services and products that will be retailed by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Hongkong Post will also try out automatic mailing machines in certain post offices.

Hongkong Post this year distributed 31 million promotion leaflets on the Legislative Council election.

1 USD = 7.78095 HKD

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Japan Post sees need for real estate investments

Posted by | Sep 12, 2008 | |

Japan Post, which controls 328 trillion yen (USD 3.06 trillion) in assets, should diversify its investments, possibly into real estate, an executive said on Friday 12th September.

Japan Post Insurance, the insurance unit of Japan Post and manager of the funds brought in from the organisation’s “kampo” postal insurance services, now invests 61 percent of its 120 trillion yen of kampo assets in Japanese government bonds, Saito said.

Saito noted that Japanese life insurers invest about 5 percent of their assets in real estate and about 15 percent in government debt. If the same proportion of the 120 trillion yen kampo money were invested in real estate, that would be 6 trillion yen, Saito said.

Several midsize Japanese real estate companies have folded this year due to tighter credit conditions. Last month, Urban Corp failed in the biggest collapse of a listed Japanese company in six years.

Japan Post should also utilise its current 3 trillion yen worth of real estate assets, said Saito, adding that it was questionable whether the organisation needed to retain its employee housing facilities.

Japan Post has 30 apartment buildings with 1,700 units for its employees in the central Tokyo wards of Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato, he said.

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