Main findings of the study are:
– EUR 700 million
– 8% annual growth
– Air courier service represents around 6 pct of total exports in Italy (high added value products)
– Key element for the success of Italian companies in the USA, China and India.
Italian competition regulator Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Antitrust) has opened an investigation into possible abuse of a dominant market position by the country’s leading postal services operator, Poste Italiane. The investigation relates to liberalised services and services that are due to be liberalised in the next six years, and covers supply contracts made by Poste Italiane between December 2000 and January 2007. These contracts are thought to have been weighted in the state-owned group’s favour, and to have contained clauses that restricted competition.
Poste Italiane CEO Massimo Sarmi said that he was confident about the outcome of the inquiry, which should be revealed before the end of May next year, because the company had ‘always respected market regulations, competition, and consumer rights’.
Read MoreThe Italian government has given the preliminary go-ahead to a revamp of subsidies for publishing companies, including hikes in value added tax and less postal benefits, said the Corriere della Sera, citing government officials.
The revamp follows an Italy antitrust authority fact-finding study which recently found subsidies of nearly 500 mln eur for the sectors. Analysts had said they didn’t expect changes to the aid.
In its Saturday edition, the newspaper said Friday’s ministerial meeting approved an increase in VAT to 20 pct for some add-on products sold with publications, from the current 4 pct rate.
The increased VAT will not be applied to add-on books, DVDs and CDs, the newspaper said. The antitrust authority said DVDs and cassettes normally pay 20 pct tax when sold separately.
Another government change is for publishers to pay the full postal tariff on publications sent by post, instead of a reduced rate, with this change being introduced in 2011, it said.
The antitrust authority said these benefits amounted to 299 mln eur in 2006, against 303 mln in 2005, including 174 mln for profit-making companies.
In 2005, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore SpA received 18.9 mln eur, Il Sole 24 Ore SpA, which plans a bourse listing, 17.8 mln, RCS MediaGroup SpA 13.8 mln, and Editoriale L’Espresso SpA 4.7 mln.
Read MorePostcomm’s Strategy ReviewA summary of emerging themes from Postcomm’s Strategy Review
In August 2006 Postcomm published a Strategy Review document for consultation. The review looked at whether we needed to alter our regulatory policies so we can continue to protect mail users in the future – from 2010 and beyond – and yet allow mail operators the flexibility to adapt to changes in the market.
This document briefly summarises emerging themes in the responses we received to that Strategy Review document.
Full document – Postcomm’s Strategy Review. The postal market 2010 and beyond: Emerging Themes (pdf, 429KB)
What respondents told us
Royal Mail said the current regulatory framework is no longer fit for purpose and is subjecting the company to serious financial pressure. It said Postcomm should allow Royal Mail to compete in the business market without any restrictions and limit regulatory interventions to stamped mail.
Royal Mail’s competitors pointed out that Royal Mail, which is focusing hard on retaining every item of mail, enjoys the advantages of economies of scale and the unique privilege of VAT exemption. They questioned whether our current regulatory tools are sufficient to deal with Royal Mail’s market dominance.
Postcomm’s main conclusions in the emerging themes document, on which we are seeking feedback, are:
Customers are benefiting from competition. However, Royal Mail is finding the impact of competition and of new media very difficult to cope with, in part because of its slow progress in improving efficiency and in developing new services. The universal service (USO) remains profitable and is being provided to a very high quality of service.
More innovation is needed in order to exploit the changing mail market. Mail operators in the UK are not fully grasping the opportunities – or facing up to the challenges – of new communications media to the extent that some of their European and North American counterparts are. Mail has some important characteristics, such as personalisation and hand delivery, which valuably differentiate it in a digital world. If operators focus on how their mail products can add value for users, there is no reason to accept the prospect of a contracting mail market.
Postcomm reaffirms its aim to move to less detailed regulation. If Royal Mail can improve its cost transparency and respond better to the changing market, Postcomm should be able to scale back the regulatory regime from 2010 onwards.
The universal service will be secured in a changing mail market. Postcomm is responding to Royal Mail’s request to remove business products from the universal service and, in doing so, it wants to promote a wider debate as to how the scope and specification of the USO should adapt to changing social, economic and technological conditions. However, the basic right to post a stamped letter anywhere in the UK for the same price will remain at the centre of the universal service.
How to regulate the postal industry an economic approach
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