Tag: Asia

Cabinet considers FDI cap in couriers

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

This is one mail courier companies would be praying is returned to the sender. A Cabinet note circulated by the department of posts has mooted 49 pct cap on FDI in courier business.

If the proposal goes through, multinationals like Fedex, DHL, UPS and TNT who hold more than 49 pct in Indian ventures will have to pare stake. The draft of the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill has another whammy in store for the private sector.

It proposes to make letters, parcels and packets weighing up to 150 gm the exclusive preserve of India Post. Private players will have to charge 2.5 times the tariff specified by Speed Post to operate in this segment.

The proposal to amend the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Act has been revived despite opposition from other government departments and the courier industry. A source said posts secretary I M G Khan has sent a communication on the proposed changes to department of industrial policy & promotion (Dipp) secretary Ajay Shankar.

The proposals specify that a person eligible to seek registration for operating in the mail sector has to be a company in which not less than 51 pct of the paid-up share capital is held by the citizens of India.

The draft Bill has been sent to the Cabinet and, once approved, the government can introduce the Bill in Parliament, source added.

The private courier companies had vehemently opposed the amendments earlier too. “In an era of free economy, if the country is embracing any legislation of such nature, it would send a wrong image internationally and it would also wipe out a vibrant part of our economy,” EICI had said in a communication to telecom minister A Raja.

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Postal services to start Hybrid mail next month

Posted by | Oct 31, 2007 | |

The Postal Services Department will be introducing a new service, Hybrid Mail, in November, Postmaster General Hj Abd Kadir Tengah disclosed recently.

Hybrid mail allows customers to send in their letters via e-mail to the department, which will then sort it out electronically, prints it and delivers it in physical form to the intended recipient.

The introduction of the service is to ensure the rapid process and delivery of letters to customers.

During the gathering, the postmaster general also mentioned the department’s progress since last year, in particular the 92 per cent rise in delivery services for the month of September 2007 alone.

The performance of their counter services, considered as the frontline of the postal department, is at their best, said the postmaster general, who added that the department is currently offering the best services to the public especially with the addition of modernised equipment such as automated counter services.

In addition to the upgrading of its equipment, the department is also constantly encouraging its human resource and service staff to improve them selves, so that the quality of service will also be upgraded.

Department employees are given the opportunity to join training programs whether in the country or overseas, to keep them up-to-date with the current postal processes and services available in the world.

Hj Abd Kadir pointed out two factors that are of importance to the progress and development of the department: courier services and ICT.

The postmaster general also highlighted the challenges that the department faces, in particular maintaining its overall sustainability.

The department is determined to maintain its focus on its overall services, especially its quality and functions, so that everything it does is relevant and appropriate towards its aim of becoming a communication hub and connecting the community.

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Developing Countries' Postal Service Needs to be accommodated

Posted by | Oct 30, 2007 | |

Indonesia suggested that members of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) accommodate the service that is applied in developing countries in order to simplify postal shipment among countries. The suggestion was conveyed during the postal regulator meeting conference, which is now ongoing in Switzerland.

Director General of Post and Telecommunication at the Information and Communication Department, Basuki Yusuf Iskandar, said that standard postal service among UPU country members is not equal. “This condition cause difficulties in postal shipment to the destination,” said Basuki in Jakarta last week.

The matter of shipment and standards must be made more comprehensive. Creating these standards became an important issue in the meeting. Acting as the UPU Administrative Council member, Indonesia conveyed the suggestion. “We hope that the conference listens to the voice of a developing country,” said Basuki.

Basuki explained, the standard comprises three types of shipments: physical dimensions (letter and goods shipment), electronic dimensions (shipment via e-mail), and financial dimension (money transfer by electronic transaction).

According to Post & Telecommunication Directorate General’s spokesperson, Gatot S. Dewa Broto, although there has not been any standard applied, the postal condition in Indonesia still has many things to repair. Post in Indonesia is still manual as it hasn’t postal equipment used in other countries.

In addition, shipment service in Indonesia still has many impediments. Thus, PT Pos Indonesia must be aggressive and innovative in their activities. “The impediment level is still high in the link or network between terminals. If we want to develop, we should be able to reduce the delay level,” said Gatot.

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New postal union finding its feet / JPU merger with Zenyusei creates nation's largest corporate labor union

Posted by | Oct 30, 2007 | |

The Japan Postal Union (JPU) and All Japan Postal Office Labor Union (Zenyusei)–two of now privatized Japan Post’s biggest unions–merged on Oct. 22 to form the nation’s largest corporate labor union.

With 220,000 members, Japan Post Group Union (JP Union) eclipses NTT’s 180,000-member labor union. Zenyusei Chairman Yoshikazu Yamaguchi became the first chairman of the merged union, while JPU Secretary General Shozo Namba landed the post of secretary general.

JPU, with a membership of 137,000, had indicated a strong interest in a merger, while Zenyusei, with 83,000 members, was hesitant about a tie-up over concerns it would be overwhelmed in the JPU, observers said.

However, the merger plan was pushed through more quickly as the administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pressed on with privatization.

JPU and Zenyusei had agreed to oppose postal privatization, and although the agreement was only a formality, it proved successful in allowing the two to coordinate their efforts in opposing the changes.

But as the country’s largest union, JP Union will now have to bear the heavy responsibility of tackling a number of thorny issues.

First and foremost is the question of what it will do in the annual wage negotiations in the spring. The union of NTT Corp., which was privatized in 1985, has been taking part in the joint annual spring wage negotiations as a private corporate union since NTT was privatized.

Akira Yamagishi, the first chairman of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), came from the NTT union. In contrast, none of the JPU leaders were chosen for leadership positions in the defunct General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sohyo) and Rengo.

Although one of the chairmen of the defunct Japan Socialist Party was a member of JPU, the union did not have a strong voice in the labor movement because internal differences meant its leadership lineup was changed repeatedly.

Zenyusei, for its part, failed to make its presence felt among government and public workers unions.

Next year’s spring labor campaign will therefore provide a useful insight into the JP Union’s future direction.

In addition, there are questions over how much distance the JP Union will keep from the management of the privatized entities. Corporate downsizing is unavoidable at a private firm whose business has deteriorated. Restructuring efforts might include personnel cuts through transfers, secondments and early retirement as well as a review of operations.

One JP Union official commented: “It’s very hard to increase earnings while maintaining regional services. So labor and management will need to work together in finding a new business model.”

The mail delivery business has already been affected by a sharp increase in the number of nonregular workers. Labor and management have signed an agreement on a system opening the door to nonregular workers to become regular workers. Improving working conditions for nonregular workers will be essential to facilitate any expansion of the JP Union.

This may run counter to the needs of a private firm that is seeking to increase efficiency. But if the JP Union seeks only compromises with management, it will have less of an impact than it might otherwise have, despite its size.

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SingPost's net profit jumps almost 10%, revenue up 9

Posted by | Oct 30, 2007 | |

Singapore Post has booked an almost 10 per cent climb in earnings for its fiscal second quarter, thanks to higher postal revenue as well as gains by its logistics and retail businesses.

Net profit for the three months ended in September amounted to SUSD 39.66 million.

SingPost’s new CEO Wilson Tan said at a news briefing Tuesday that he looks forward to pushing new plans of expansion into 2008.

SingPost has turned in earnings numbers that were slightly better than market forecasts.

Net profit jumped almost ten per cent from the same period a year ago while revenues climbed nine per cent. This takes its net profit at half-time to SUSD 78 million.

“We have been able to see good organic growth and that is something that we are very pleased with. Certainly there were some price adjustments that we’ve been doing, and finally (on) the productivity side of things, we have been able to be a little bit more effective and efficient in our operations.”

While the earnings were better than market forecasts, SingPost also saw a 9 per cent increase in operating expenses mainly caused by rising labour costs, which rose by 7.9 per cent to SUSD 30.8 million.

The postal operator, however, is positive in its outlook, saying it is well-positioned to address challenges arising from the liberalisation of basic mail services market.

It also plans to grow its hybrid mail and online shopping service vPost businesses in the region.

SingPost has declared a dividend of 1.25 Singapore cents per share for the second quarter

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