Tag: Malta Post

Malta granted two-year concession for postal services liberalization

Posted by | Oct 3, 2007 | |

Malta and another 10 EU member states have managed to obtain a two-year concession from the EU before being obliged to fully liberalize their postal services market.

During an EU Telecoms Council held in Luxembourg, EU ministers responsible for postal services agreed to introduce total liberalization in this sector as from the beginning of 2011.

However, due to the recent privatization of Maltapost, Malta requested, and was granted, a further two-year transitional period and will now only be obliged to introduce full liberalization by the beginning of 2013.

Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea welcomed the deal and said this will give Malta more breathing space.

Mr Galea said Malta believes the liberalization of the postal services will benefit consumers and the economy.

“Malta feels that the liberalization of the postal services sector is important and will bring about improved services for the consumer. Existing service providers will be motivated to become more reliable and efficient, offer new services and further increase their customer focus in the light of potential competition from new market entrants,” he said.

A few weeks ago, the government sold another 25 per cent stake in Maltapost to Red Box, a fully-owned subsidiary of Lombard Bank which now holds the majority of the company’s shares. The government has also announced its intention to float the remaining shares of the company on the Malta Stock Exchange early next year.

National postal operators such as Maltapost still enjoy a monopoly on mail below a certain weight (currently a maximum of 50 grammes), known as the “reserved area”. However, with the new EU agreement, this will cease.

The same EU regulations already oblige member states to provide a basic service known as the “universal” package, which comprises at least one delivery and collection, five days a week, for every EU citizen.

The government will still be able to subsidies this service in cases of remote and “non-commercial” areas.

The postal service in Malta is regulated by the Malta Communications Authority.

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Malta Post: Third past the post

Posted by | Sep 12, 2007 | |

Malta has just joined Germany and the Netherlands as the third EU member state to fully privatise the postal service.

Privatization has always been something of a hot potato in Malta: more so in the case of the national postal service, whose previous partial privatization resulted in a nosedive in service standards and a disaster for consumers.

So it is surprising that support for the company’s total privatization now comes from the same trade union which in the past had wrestled with former major shareholders, New Zealand company Transend.

Union Haddiema Maqghudin general secretary Gejtu Vella thinks that the total privatization of MaltaPost will bring to an end a “10-year trauma” for postal workers.

Vella regrets that MaltaPost had to pass from a turbulent decade in which it was first turned in to a public company in the mid 1990s, only to revert to a government department in 1998 and to be partially privatized in 2002 when New Zealend state company Transend bought an equity share.

The UHM, which went on the warpath when Transend tried to downsize the number of postal workers, is satisfied by the job guarantee given by Maltapost’s new owners. Maltapost has now promised not to dismiss any worker except for disciplinary proceedures and normal retirement.

Vella attributes the difficulties facing the postal sector worldwide to the arrival of the internet.

Gejtu Vella is also confident that the involvement of a reputable bank will ensure that the new company will survive the European-wide liberalization of the sector in 2010.

Although the EU commission wants the sector to be liberalized by that date, the EU does not impose the privatization of postal services, which are still deemed an essential service.

Postal services in Europe remain largely in public hands, although there has been a movement towards the liberalization of these services with the United Kingdom and social democratic Sweden taking the lead.

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Malta Post: Future of postal workers discussed

Posted by | Aug 11, 2007 | |

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin has met Investments Minister Austin Gatt to discuss the future of Maltapost employees in connection with the company’s privatization.

In a statement yesterday, the union said it had secured a guarantee that no worker will be laid off, assurances the ministry had already made when announcing the privatization.

On July 30, the ministry had announced that Lombard Bank Malta plc had become the company’s major shareholder and that Malta post’s privatization would be completed once it sold its remaining shares on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Several points were discussed during the meeting, among them the right of government employees to return to their former offices and departments.

Those who had had joined the government before 1979, but chose to remain with Malta post would retain the right to a sum of money from the Treasury.

In the coming days, the union will be meeting Lombard officials to further discuss the employees’ future. It will also call a meeting for the workers to inform them of the outcome of these meetings.

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Maltapost introduces new postcodes

Posted by | Apr 9, 2007 | |

Maltapost has introduced a new alphanumeric postcode, which is made up of three letters followed by four numbers. This new postcode will compliment the restructuring of Maltapost’s distribution system and continue to enhance further the efficiencies in the system.
The three letters in the new postcode indicate the locality, and the first three digits refer to the road/or street with the last digit referring to the actual street segment.

Maltapost introduced the new postcode of each dwelling in the Christmas Card sent last December. The new postcode can now be viewed on an online directory on the Maltapost website, www.maltapost.com.

Meanwhile, letters to households and commercial establishments are being mailed in the coming weeks as reminders to clients about their new postcode. Maltapost will be also sending three postcards to each residence with the respective postcode. These cards can be sent at no postal charge to friends and relatives, informing their preferred senders with the new postcode.

In 2006 Maltapost’s service obtained a record 92% J+1 result. This means that 92% of mail was delivered by the next day which is above the regulatory standard rate. The new postcode will assist Maltapost in improving the postal service to all its clients.

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Lombard Bank takes over equity in Maltapost

Posted by | Aug 16, 2006 | |

Lombard Bank Malta plc has reached an agreement with Transend Worldwide Ltd whereby it has acquired the New Zealand company’s 35 per cent shareholding in Maltapost plc, in a move that is widely seen as paving the way for Maltapost’s diversification efforts.

In a company announcement issued on Thursday, Lombard Bank said that it considers the investment to be of strategic importance and should result in added value to the stakeholders of both the Bank and Maltapost.

The deal went through following the approval by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the transfer of shares.

The Ministry for Investment, Industry and IT welcomed the transfer and expressed its believe that, with the entry of Lombard Bank, Maltapost would see the beginning of a new and exciting phase as it would now be able to use the expertise of its new shareholders to sustain its diversification efforts aimed at strengthening its capacity to deliver on its core postal activities.

The Ministry also extended its gratitude to Transend Worldwide Ltd. for its contribution in the profound restructuring and reform carried out at Maltapost in recent years.

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