Hong Kong’s self-financing postal administration will stop offering permanent civil service contracts to new employees as part of cost-saving measures amid a worsening financial outlook. Postmaster General Leonia Tai Shuk-yiu said on Tuesday that new Hongkong Post employees who pass probation in or after September would be offered two-year contracts on civil service terms, as…
Hong Kong’s civil service chief has pledged to deliver a “reasonable and attractive” pay adjustment once the economy and public finances improve, following the legislature’s approval of a flat 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants this year. The Legislative Council’s finance committee on Friday scrutinised HK$6 billion (US$773 million) in spending for the…
Hong Kong authorities have vowed to develop a long-term road map for the city’s struggling self-financing postal operator and keep an “open-mind” on all options, including privatisation or turning it into a traditional department. Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bernard Chan Pak-li revealed the move at the Legislative Council’s economic development panel meeting…
Hongkong Post’s worsening financial situation may require not only an injection of funds but also a return to being a government-funded department providing basic public services, observers have said. The analysts’ views follow the authorities’ plan to inject HK$4.6 billion (US$587 million) as a lifeline to support Hongkong Post’s operations over the next three years,…
In Hong Kong’s busy commercial area of Causeway Bay, a post office located in a major shopping centre served just a few dozen customers during lunch on Thursday. Across 90 minutes, when nearby restaurants and shops were filled with residents pressed for time, the post office stayed mostly empty, its workers outnumbering the people they…
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,…
Hong Kong authorities are seeking to inject HK$4.6 billion (US$587 million) into the government-owned postal service provider to sustain its operations for the next three years, following eight years of operating losses and declining mail volumes. A document submitted to Legislative Council on Wednesday by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau showed a bruising fiscal…
Hong Kong will raise its postage rates next month amid surging oil prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, with the cost of posting local letters increasing by 9 per cent to HK$2.40 (31 US cents). Hongkong Post on Monday said that the new rates would come into effect from April 13, highlighting…
Hong Kong’s public airmail services to 24 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia have been affected after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran forced flight cancellations to two Gulf states and disrupted transit journeys. A Hongkong Post spokesman said on Sunday evening that the department’s airmail services to Saudi Arabia and the…
Hong Kong witnessed three data breaches targeting local flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, Louis Vuitton and the public postal service in the space of several days, sparking fresh concerns about cybersecurity in the city. As digital threats evolve, the Post talks to experts about what went wrong, what consumers should watch out for and how…