Following consultation, Postcomm has issued a long term licence to Target Express Parcels Limited, to provide consolidation services, that is, the collection and sorting of mail.
Read MoreBelgian electronic invoicing services provider Certipost, a joint venture of postal service company De Post/La Poste and telecommunications provider Belgacom, has appointed Stijn Vander Plaetse chief executive, it was reported on October 11, 2005.
Vander Plaetse replaces Erik Weytjens, who has been worked for De Post/La Poste since 2000.
Vander Plaetse has been Head of Marketing Business in Belgacom since 1998 and was responsible for corporate marketing activities.
Read MorePrivate equity group CVC is busy putting its stamp on Europe’s postal industry. This summer it bought 22percent of Post Danmark and yesterday the two jointly took a 50percent stake, less one share, in Belgium’s postal operator, De Post-La Poste. What the two appear to be offering is a combination of CVC’s financial clout and Post Danmark’s industry expertise. Both are vital in an industry where liberalisation is the name of the game and country monopolies look headed for the bin. At the same time the CVC/Post Danmark model appears to offers the prospect of continued state control – and politically sensitive social responsibilities – alongside much needed cash for investment.
Is it too good to be true? For trade secretary Alan Johnson, mulling options for Royal Mail, the answer is likely to be yes. Even CVC would blanche at the huge investment needed to modernise Royal Mail and make a meaningful dent in its pensions deficit. And opening Royal Mail to private equity would send the political temperature soaring.
Within the framework of the existing CVC postal deals there are questions to be answered. At some point CVC will want an exit. The stock market offers one route – but does not offer a solution to the anomaly of a listed company with majority state control, a hatful of social responsibilities and private sector competition. Nor does a trade sale look more promising. The number of potential buyers would be limited and liberalisation could well end up in consolidation.
Read MoreChina will account for as much as three quarters of DHL Express’s Asia-Pacific revenue in five years, up from more than 45 percent now, a senior executive said on Thursday. Asked about China’s contribution to Asian revenue, Jerry Hsu, DHL’s president for Greater China and Korea, told Reuters: “Hopefully, we will (have) at least 70 to 75 percent five years down the road. We have over 45 percent currently”. DHL, the express subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net, expects revenue there to grow by more than half this year on top of 50 to 60 percent growth last year. “If GDP grows 8 to 9 percent, international express is going 30 to 40 percent, and we always aim to equal or grow faster than the market,” said Scott Price, DHL’s Asia-Pacific chief executive. DHL posted 3.4 billion euros (USD4.1 billion) of revenue in Asia in 2004, versus more than 24 billion euros worldwide, according to the latest figures provided in materials on Thursday.
Read MoreBelgian postal services company De Post/La Poste plans to go public in 2009, it was reported on October 13, 2005.
Danish postal service Post Denmark and UK investment fund CVC Capital Partners will invest 300 mln euro (USD359.7 mln) in De Post/La Poste in exchange for a 50 pct stake minus one share. Thus the Belgian government will continue to be the majority owner of De Post/La Poste.
Under the deal, Post Denmark may sell its stake in De Post/La Poste not earlier than in five years’ time, while CVC Capital can offer its stake a year earlier but only through an IPO. Post Denmark has a pre-emptive right on CVC Capital shares, while the Belgian government has the pre-emptive right on the consortium’s stake, if it is put up for sale in five years’s time.
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