Tag: Malta

Maltapost privatisation latest red-letter day in postal history

Posted by | Jan 21, 2008 | |

The successful sale to the public of government shares in Maltapost is the latest salient episode in Malta’s postal history which, some researchers say, is unrivalled by any other country of an equivalent size.

Despite the lack of precise knowledge on the origins of mail in Malta, the work of a number of dedicated postal historians has contributed towards piecing together information that can enlighten postal enthusiasts on the happenings throughout the centuries, going back to the Order of St John.

October 1, 1995: Posta Ltd is set up to run the General Post Office.

October 1997: The Parcel Post Office, the Central Mail Room, the Philatelic Bureau and the Postal Administration were transferred to 305, Qormi Road, Marsa. The Valletta counter services start to operate from Dar Annona in Castille Place.

May 1, 1998: Postal services, run by Posta Ltd, a private limited company, are taken over by a new public limited company Maltapost plc.

January 31, 2002: Maltapost plc is partially privatised with the Maltese government selling 35 per cent to Transend Worldwide Ltd, a subsidiary company of New Zealand Post Ltd with a view to prepare the company to meet the EU postal directives and further liberalisation of the postal market.

September 6, 2007: The government sells 25 per cent of its shareholding to Lombard Bank plc where Lombard Bank effectively became the majority shareholder in Maltapost plc with 60 per cent shareholding. The government undertakes to sell to the public the remaining 40 per cent of shares it owns by floating them on the Malta Stock Exchange.

January 8, 2008: The government announces the sale of 40 per cent of its shareholding in Maltapost in an initial public offering.

Read More

Government to shed its stake in MaltaPost

Posted by | Jan 14, 2008 | |

The government’s 40 per cent shareholding in MaltaPost is being offered for sale via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and MaltaPost shares will be quoted on the Malta Stock Exchange later this month.

At a news conference held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre early last week to announce the sale, Minister Austin Gatt succinctly explained, “The government’s business is government and not business.”

He said that the event was the final step in Maltapost’s privatisation process that had began five years ago resulting in a leaner and more efficient postal service that could operate on commercial lines. As a government entity the postal service was “expensive to run and resulted in taxpayers’ money being poured in,” he said. In the Maltese context, he believed it made sense to allow Lombard Bank, a strong and respected local financial institution, to take a majority stake “but we are now also providing an opportunity to the public to invest in this company by putting our remaining shares up for sale through this IPO,” he said. We did this with a purpose. A deal could have been struck to sell all the government’s shares to Lombard Bank, but this government believes in extending the public an opportunity to invest and that is why we are listing the shares on the stock exchange.”

The share offer is of 11,200,000 shares of a nominal value of e0.25c per share at a Share Offer Price of e0.50c per share. The offer is being made by the Malta government and Malta Government Investment Limited that currently own 40 per cent of the company. Maltapost market capitalisation is currently set at e14,000,000. The company is also to adopt a dividend policy of distributing up to 50 per cent of yearly available profits.

1 USD = 0.288408 MTL

Read More

Full privatisation of Maltapost

Posted by | Jan 8, 2008 | |

Maltapost is to be completely privatised as government announced that it will be selling its 40 per cent shareholding in the company.

The major shareholder after the privatisation of the postal services is complete will be Lombard Bank. Government will be selling 11 million, two hundred thousand shares at a nominal prices of EUR 0.25 cents each.

The offer is open until 18 January.

Maltapost chairman Dr Joseph Said said that contrary to what people think, Maltapost offers one of the most efficient services around Europe and was classified as the 16th most efficient postal services out of 40 countries surveyed.

Read More

New Chairman for Maltapost

Posted by | Oct 23, 2007 | |

Lombard Bank Malta plc CEO and Director Joseph Said has been appointed Chairman of Maltapost plc, succeeding David Stellini who shall however retain a place on the Board.

The change at the helm of the postal company follows the recent acquisition by Lombard Bank of an additional 25 per cent shareholding in Maltapost from the Government.

The Bank thus became the major shareholder in the company, as its total shareholding in Maltapost was raised to 60 per cent.

The Maltapost Board is now made up of, Joseph Azzopardi, Ian Pellicano, Joseph Said, David Stellini, Philip Tabone, and newly appointed director Aurelio Theuma, who is the Chief Financial Officer of Lombard Bank Malta plc.

Read More

Maltapost workers return to sender

Posted by | Oct 14, 2007 | |

Job security is the name of the game for 120 of the 150 Maltapost employees who are entitled to take advantage of a scheme to return to the civil service.

The employees took the decision after Cabinet last month approved the transfer of 25 per cent of the government’s shares in Maltapost to Lombard Bank in a Lm1.2 million (€2.8 million) deal.

Lombard becomes the company’s majority shareholder with a 60 per cent stake, though the government has made it clear it intends to completely privatise Maltapost.

Maltapost employees who formed part of the Posts Department before 1995 have the right to return to the civil service under the terms of the 1996 agreement for public sector workers affected by privatisations. Maltapost has a total of 550 workers.

Union Haddiema Maghqudin president Gejtu Tanti is not surprised at the number of workers who decided to return to the public service.

Postal workers have passed through a turbulent period in the past 12 years – the postal department was turned into Posta Ltd in the mid 1990s before it was closed down and workers temporarily shifted to the Office of the Postmaster.

When Maltapost was born through partial privatisation, around 100 workers decided to return to State employment.

Mr Tanti said the company will now have to make a fresh call for applications, and he insisted that Maltapost was not overstaffed.

However, the UHM president believes Maltapost is now in good hands.

“With the constant improvements in IT, it’s an uphill struggle for all postal companies to do well, but I believe Maltapost will be stronger financially with a reputable bank like Lombard at the helm.”

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest