Cost of Living - Postal rates increase to RM1.30 from 60 cents on 1st Feb? PH government and Minister Gobind agreed?

COST OF LIVING - Well, Pos Malaysia just increased their postage rate from 60 cents to RM1.30 - that is an increase of 70 cents, and the effect is that the share price of Pos Malaysia also increased...This starts on 1/2/2020, and an internet search revealed that the rise in postage charges appeared a few days before the end of the year.

They said that the increase will not affect the individual user ...which is not really true. I just checked yesterday at the Post Office - it all depends on who the letter is send to ...that means if you send a letter to a bank, insurance company or any company/corporation, you need a RM1.30 cents stamp. If you send the letter to an individual, then it remains at 60 cents...Well, many government departments/agencies are also 'corporations'...

Well, many people send letters to banks and companies ...to send their cheques for renewal of insurance premium, to make their payment for loans, etc... [Some may not have online banking ...or prefer to use 'online banking' especially on their own computers for worry of being hacked...for after all, a personal computer is never as secure as an ATM machine in the bank - They still send monies be it through cheques, Kiriman Wang, Wang Pos,... etc...]

KAD RAYA - I went to the Post Office to send out Christmas Cards, and it used to be only 50 cents - but today it is 80 cents. [I send out about 10 cards, including one to myself and one to my mother, and both of us to date has not received this cards, where we used 80 cents stamps...I wonder how many others received their Christmas cards from me and my family]

Postal communication is something that should be the responsibility of government...they must make sure that there is always affordable communications - after all, our minimum wage is only RM1,100, and so many persons earn lesser or are income less especially the elderly in the country - and they do not own a smartphone or a computer or use the internet. 

Thus postal rates in Malaysia for letters to anyone in Malaysia(at the very least) ought to be maintained at 60 cents - even if there is to be any increase, it should never be more than 10% the normal rate.

What is Pakatan Harapan government doing? Increasing our cost of living...What is the Minister  (Communications and Multimedia Minister) Gobind Singh Deo doing? Did the Minister APPROVE this increase? Was the rakyat even consulted?

Why was it not the Minister who made this announcement? Why is it Pos Malaysia? Does the government no longer control the postal rates in Malaysia? The government must control postal, phone and toll rates....and all other basic necessities of the people - the RAKYAT?

Primary concern is the people - the RAKYAT - not Pos Malaysia shareholders? Like public transport, this is a basic right of the people...

Maybe Pos Malaysia should just go back to being under the government, and all its employees should be made civil servants...Will the postal workers salaries rise with this increased rates? Will they all be permanent employees - regular employees until retirement?

How many company to company letters are there? Most letters are from individuals to companies, who now will be charged RM1.30? 

If letters from companies to individuals only, that may be different - BUT wait - if you increase company's postage cost to individuals, then most companies will only find ways to transfer the 'increase' to the individual customers...

Do we not have a Consumer Affair Minister - Well, has Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail forgotten his responsibilities to the Rakyat consumer? Have you seen anything about what this Minister said concerning rise in postage cost? 

Pos Malaysia revises commercial postage rates, rakyat not affected

Tuesday, 28 Jan 2020 07:13 PM MYT

 A Pos Malaysia representative holds the Exotic Food-themed postage stamps in Kuala Lumpur February 15, 2019. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Pos Malaysia Berhad (Pos Malaysia) will be revising commercial postage rates effective February 1, 2020, saying that the move will not affect the rakyat.

In a statement today, it said the move is in tandem with the rising operation costs and the increase in the international rate structure by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which has changed the global postal landscape and prompted Pos Malaysia to transform the postal system for greater efficiency.

The last revision of postage rates was in 2010.

Moving forward, Pos Malaysia said it will continue to provide affordable postage rates for personal and non-commercial mail users at the current domestic stamp rate of 60 sen.

The revised postage rates will only apply to registered mails, commercial mails and small parcels below 2kg, Pos Malaysia said, adding that its commercial clients represent 95 per cent of all mail users in Malaysia with only five per cent comprising individual mail users.

According to Pos Malaysia website, commercial stamp rate will be increased by 70 sen to RM1.30 and commercial registered mail up 90 sen to RM3.10.

Pos Malaysia said its various commercial clients ranging from banking, telecommunications to retail have expressed support towards the new postage rates, as it is deemed reasonable and would have minimal impact on their businesses.

The company’s Group Chief Executive Officer Syed Md Najib Syed Md Noor said the new postage rates will allow them to better support their costs to serve over nine million addresses nationwide under the Universal Service Obligation.

“Concurrently, we aim to align our growth with the booming digital economy by embracing innovation to improve service efficiency and customer experience.

“It is necessary to embark on an aggressive growth plan to remain relevant in the industry as the world is moving towards Industrial Revolution 4.0,” he said.

Syed Md Najib said Pos Malaysia will continue to invest in digitalisation and its e-commerce infrastructure as part of its transformation agenda to boost its performance as a service provider with the widest reach in the country.

Digitalisation is crucial to propel Pos Malaysia’s business further and this is evident by looking at the country’s mobile penetration which is well above 100 per cent, a great milestone achieved by the government in growing Malaysia’s digital economy, he said.

He said the e-commerce sector in Malaysia is expected to grow up to 30 per cent in 2020.

“Hence, Pos Malaysia must gear up with the current technology advancement to claim market dominance and become the centre of e-commerce for the country,” he said.

International postal services saw an increase in the last mile delivery cost of up to 30 per cent for a small parcel below 2 kg, beginning January 2020 following the decision by the Universal Postal Union from the Geneva Extraordinary Congress in Sept 2019, affecting postal operators globally. — Bernama - Malay Mail, 28/1/2020

Pos Malaysia rises as much as 10% on new postage rates, upgrade

Surin Murugiah

/

theedgemarkets.com

January 29, 2020 10:22 am +08

 

 

  

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Shares in Pos Malaysia Bhd rose as much as 10% in early trade this morning after the national courier said it will raise postage rates for registered mail, commercial mail and small parcels below 2kg, effective Feb 1.

At 9.05am, Pos Malaysia rose 11 sen to RM1.55, valuing it at RM1.21 billion. The stock had earlier risen to a high of RM1.60.

The postal group said the new rates were the result of rising operational costs and the increase in the international rate structure by the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

Stamp rates for commercial mail will increase by 70 sen, which is more than double, to RM1.30. The price of commercial private letterboxes will increase by RM150 to RM200 a year.

The postage of commercial registered mail will increase by 90 sen to RM3.10, while non-commercial registered mail will leap 20 sen to RM2.40.

Meanwhile, Hong Leong IB Research upgraded Pos Malaysia to “Hold” at RM1.44 with a higher target price of RM1.55 (from RM1.25) after Pos Malaysia announced the increase in postage hike to RM1.30 from 60 sen per standard 20g mail effective on Feb 1.

In a note today, the research house said it was positive on the news of the postage hike in the near team, as Pos Malaysia is able to generate additional estimated revenue of circa RM250 million on a full year basis (circa RM230 million for FY20).

“Following the news, we now expect profit of RM77.3 million on FY20 earnings from a loss of RM25.4 million as we take into account higher revenue generated from postal services in tandem with higher cost possibility.

“Upgrade to Hold (from Sell) with a higher target price of RM1.55 (from RM1.25) based on 0.7x FY12/20 BVPS of RM2.22 (at -1.25 S.D. below its 3-year historical P/B of 1.46x),” it said. - Edge Market, 29/1/2020

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/pos-malaysia-rises-much-10-new-postage-rates-upgrade