The Postmaster General's Statement

2014 /15 marked a milestone in the history of Hongkong Post in ways more than one.

In October 2014, the Central Mail Centre was fully commissioned following a complicated, year-long migration process involving the consolidation of our International Mail Centre and the sorting office of the General Post Office. In August 2014, we embarked on the installation of a newly developed Integrated Postal Services System (IPSS), initially at all post offices for subsequent extension to all backend operational and support units. In addition, we achieved an operating profit of $169 million for 2014 /15, representing a rate of return on the average net fixed assets of 4.9%.

These developments reflect the underlying thrusts of our corporate effort to achieve operational and financial sustainability for the Post Office Trading Fund (POTF). As a unified facility with advanced mail processing equipment primarily for processing local mail, the Central Mail Centre allows more streamlined mail flow and thus helps us maintain cost-effective operational performance. The IPSS enhances customer experience with a modernised counter interface, improves operational efficiency through seamless integration of counter functions with backend processes, and supports delivery of new services over the counter. The turn-around in POTF’s financial performance in 2014 /15 was a marked improvement to previous years when we were operating at a deficit.

Costs management, business development for revenue generation and enhancement of customer experience have been the focuses of our corporate strategy since Itook up the helm of Hongkong Post in October 2011. It is gratifying to see positive results from the dedicated effort of my team in these focal areas. More importantly, this encouraging outcome reaffirms that the postal channel remains relevant in the digital age, and no less for a government-run postal service such as Hongkong Post.

The question has often been put to me : operating as a trading fund and remaining as a government department, is Hongkong Post able to compete with other service providers in the market? This question is constantly on my mind. My unequivocal response is : yes, we are. This reflects how Hongkong Post positions itself in an entirely open courier and logistics market in Hong Kong.

Bearing Government’s universal service obligation, Hongkong Post is a comprehensive postal service provider offering a broad range of postal and related solutions at affordable prices with good service quality and reliability. We cover the entire territory locally and reach even remote corners of the world. While operating on commercial principles, we have a social mission, i.e. “linking people delivering business”. Hongkong Post is, in today’s language, a social enterprise. We take pride in the value we create for our customers, specifically in nurturing an inclusive community and supporting local economic development through facilitating personal and business communication as well as the efficient movement of merchandise.

The effort made in recent years to manage our costs and pursue a customer-oriented approach in business development has sharpened Hongkong Post’s competitiveness. Indeed, we view competition positively. It spurs us to drive for continuous improvement, which in turn brings better value to our customers. This benefits ourselves, our customers and the community at large.

While we are making headway in building a solid foundation for Hongkong Post’s sustainable development into the future, we are at a “work in progress” stage still. The ongoing business review for Hongkong Post, which arose from the 2015 Budget Speech delivered by the Financial Secretary, is being pursued in earnest to better meet customer needs through service innovation. The parallel effort to enhance corporate governance will help us cope with fast-evolving service demands by reinforcing our management framework. Hongkong Post is on a transformative journey, with a sense of purpose firmly anchored in our corporate culture of serving the community wholeheartedly.

Mrs. Jessie TING
Postmaster General and
General Manager of the Post Office Trading Fund

Please click here to download The Postmaster General's Statement [PDF, 2 pages of 843KB]