Tag: Asia

Making India Post dynamic and profitable

Posted by | Jul 21, 2008 | |

Over the past few years, the Department of Posts and subsequently India Post has been undergoing significant changes, adapting to the new market environment. It is now the turn of the young Minister of State for Communications and IT Jyotiraditya Scindia to do his bit to push this exercise forward.

Over the past five years, India Post has evolved. The network of over 1.5 lakh post offices across the country, with over 80 per cent of them in remote and far-flung areas, has also become the retail outlet for a variety of financial instruments and even pre-paid cards of cellular phones. In the season, one can see long-winding queues at post offices — to buy the Public Service Commission application forms of the Central and State governments.

Postal savings, small savings, and the public provident fund have remained a major attraction for sections of the people, over decades. When the private courier service came into the country, the Department of Posts faced a major threat.

But it was soon able to refashion its functioning and introduce both a Speed Post and a Business Post to cater to a special clientele. Unfortunately, some of these services proved costlier than the private operators.

But the time to take the exercise forward has come. While the first priority may be to meet the competition, the consultants are sure to find out that utilising and harnessing the unparalleled network of post offices may be the solution.

A lot of the governments’ services and payments could easily be made through this network, with which the rural people can more easily identify — ultimately, aside from the Village Headman, it may be only the postman or now the post-woman who can easily identify every citizen in his or her area of coverage.
New mechanism

The challenge now may be to meet those commitments and yet become profitable by diversifying business and generating more revenue.

With the growth of the Internet, e-mails, and e-governance, broadband connectivity at post offices can surely be a means of generating business. If people do not find the time or inclination to write or print personal or business letters any more, they cannot be blamed.

In the age of communication revolution, e-mails and SMS may make such ancient forms of communication irrelevant. So, the post offices have to accept and adapt this method of communication and use it to transfer not just information, but also enable financial transactions — such as an instant money order.

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China Postal Savings Bank Eyes Small-scale Loan Business

Posted by | Jul 21, 2008 | |

Postal Savings Bank of China feels rising pressure after the nation raised interest rates and unified the deposit reserve ratio last year.

In order to reduce pressure and lift profit, the bank, which is shifting into a commercial lender from previously a savings-focused bank, plans to attach more importance to boosting its small-scale loan business.

Notably, it is said to have held a special meeting, at which top executives responsible for small-scale loan business of braches of the bank nationwide exchanged their ideas and information regarding to loan pricing, marketing, risk management and etc.

The meeting was held with a mission to help the bank boost its small-scale loan business and create more profit-making channels, revealed insiders.

The boom of the business will play a significant role in helping the bank shift into a commercial lender, Liu Andong, chairman of Postal Savings Banks of China, pointed out on the meeting. He encouraged those executives to try their utmost to become bankers rather than employees at banks.

Actually, the bank launched small-scale loan service in the domestic market one and a half year ago. However, the size of loans it granted is not more than CNY 1 billion, compared to a total deposit of CNY 1.7 trillion.

Reasons are various, said the insiders. Some think that the credit line of the bank’s small-scale loan business is too low and others believe that the lending rate is too high. In addition, some of its branches seem to have been familiar with their existing businesses and decline to attach importance to the small-scale loan business.

It will further perfect its sales network, in a bid to ensure its outlets to be situated in not only the nation’s urban areas but also rural areas. Apart from setting up independent loan divisions, the bank’s city-level braches are required to pay more attention to employee training. Its bad debt rate should be less than 1 percent, or branches concerned should stop granting loans.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.82)

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UPS and Staples open co-branded store in China

Posted by | Jul 21, 2008 | |

UPS and Staples have opened another co-branded store in Shanghai expanding their strategic partnership in China, according to the business information provider SinoCast.

Following the opening of the two “Staples UPS Express” locations in Beijing in 2007, the additional location has been opened in the business centre Xintiandi in the Luwan District, Shanghai. The new store has an operational area of 330 sqm, engaged in providing easier and more convenient services for office supply and files buyers as well as UPS’ parcel and international transportation services.

The UPS and Staples co-branded store format combines a broad range of core offices supplies and document processing services from Staples with packaging and international shipping services for business customers and consumers from UPS.

China has become the most important international market of UPS and is creating huge demands for the company. UPS already opened its first two UPS Express retail centres in Shanghai in August 2006 as part of its planned wider expansion of UPS-branded retail outlets in the Asia-Pacific region.

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China's Sinotrans Air Transportation sees net profit up 50-100 pct

Posted by | Jul 16, 2008 | |

Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co Ltd said first half net profit is expected to have risen by 50-100 pct year-on-year due to the sale of a stake in its joint venture with Deutsche Post AG.

In December 2007, the company agreed to seel its entire stake in 50-50 joint venture Exel-Sinotrans Freight Forwarding Co Ltd to its partner Deutsche Post for 61.04 mln eur.

In a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company said the deal was completed in the first half and revenue from the sales was reflected in its first half books.

The company realized a net profit of 283.91 mln yuan in the first half of 2007, or earnings per share of 0.31 yuan.

Sinotrans Air Transportation, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Sinotrans Ltd, is due to release audited first half financial results on Aug 27.

(1 usd = 6.8 yuan)

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Western Union's money transfer service thru' postal dept launched

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Western Union’s Money Transfer Service through Bangladesh Postal Department was launched yesterday, making an easy way for the expatriates to send home money from abroad.

This facility will be available initially at 450 post offices across the country enabling people to receive remittances easily and quickly. The service will be extended to other post offices of the country in phases.

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Social Welfare and Posts and Telecommunications Brig Gen (Retd) MA Malek formally inaugurated the service by handing over the money sent by an expatriate from Malaysia to his beneficiary.

Postal Department Director General Mobashsher-ur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Saleh Uddin Ahmed, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry Secretary Iqbal Mahmud, Western Union Country Director Ratish Kumar and Country Manager Syed Mohammad Kamal and Additional DG (postal services) AKM Rafiqul Alam was present at the function.

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