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SCMP Reporter

THE Hong Kong Post Office will open 12 more Speedpost counters by the end of next month.

Three counters will be on Hong Kong island, four in Kowloon and five in the New Territories.

This would bring to 49 the number of collection points for the door-to-door, worldwide delivery service, said Ellen Siu-Wong Wei-ling, the management controller.

'More counters in strategic places all over the territory will make it easier for our customers to post express documents and parcels,' she said.

'Demand for the service has soared over the last year and having more drop off points for people in the New Territories will make the service more convenient.' Speedpost, Hong Kong's arm of the global Express Mail Service (EMS), is operated in conjunction with more than 60 postal systems around the world.

 Although a local pick-up service was usually limited to account holders, anyone could drop off parcels at Speedpost counters, Ms Siu said.

The service, for clients sending packages to the same address on a regular basis, would be expanded further by the year's end, said Albert Li Chau-ming, the controller of premium services.

'We now have the ability to service more account holders, who benefit from the pick-up service,' Mr Li said.

'Account holders also enjoy the benefit of being able to make monthly payments and get clear records of payments.

'Monthly payments allow companies to budget for their express postal expenses and plan for the future.' Account holders sign contracts with the post office for a minimum of three months and are charged a monthly fee of $150 to cover administration and pick up.

Pick-up addresses, times and delivery points were pre-arranged and the post office liaised with overseas postal systems for packages to be delivered, Mr Li said.

However, Speedpost was also available to customers sending parcels on an ad hoc basis.

The post office would collect items if clients kept open a Speedpost deposit account or paid for post with a licensed postal franking machine.

Last week, the post office launched its Multi-pac labels, eliminating bulky and time-consuming paper work.

'Clients no longer have to fill out separate forms for customs declarations, labelling and addressing,' Ms Siu said.

'The Multi-pac has an adhesive backing and is a delivery receipt document in triplicate that can be filled out and stuck on packages.

'Customers keep one sheet for their records.' Charges and maximum size of packages differed depending on countries and destinations.

However, fees were set to become more competitive and the Speedpost network extended once the post office had received trading fund status, Ms Siu said.



Post Office gets quicker