Hongkong Post has applied to the legislature for a HK$4.6 billion government bailout to support its operations in the next three years and to cover the refurbishment of the Air Mail Centre.
According to a paper submitted by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Economic Development on Wednesday, Hongkong Post suffered a HK$821 million loss in the 2024-25 financial year.
It was a record high loss since Hongkong Post began to operate a self-financing model in 1995.
The LegCo panel is set to discuss the bailout application on Tuesday next week.
Hongkong Post has seen a shrinking mail volume since 2019, according to the paper. The mail volume it handled “decreased by an average rate of about 7% per year from 2019-20 to 2024-25 with a cumulative drop of 44%, which is expected to continue or even worsen in the years to come.”
The postal service attributed the drop to the geopolitical situation, the increasing popularity of electronic communication, and the rising number of competitors.
The HK$4.6 billion bailout will also cover the HK$510 million renovation of the Air Mail Centre at Hong Kong International Airport.
In 2021, the LegCo Finance Committee (FC) approved more than HK$4.61 billion to redevelop the ageing Air Mail Centre.
However, the government called off the redevelopment project last year, citing a projected drop in airmail volumes in the coming years.
According to the paper, Hongkong Post has instead proposed a “more cost-effective” plan, which includes refurbishing the 28-year-old Air Mail Centre.
