Special stamps bring in HK$150 million a year, Hongkong Post reveals as it unveils new designs for 2018
Themes include characters from Jin Yong’s martial arts novels, Hong Kong festive customs, the city’s fire services and the Year of the Dog
Selling special stamps and their related products has earned Hongkong Post an average of HK$150 million each year for the past three years, the city’s postal service provider said on Tuesday.
That income has grown steadily since 2014, along with an increase in the number of people joining an advance order service, which allows them to pre-order products more than a year before their release, Hongkong Post’s senior manager of philatelic marketing Nelvin Lee Chun-yu said.
As of Tuesday, there were about 50,000 registered users for the advance order service.
Lee said there were ups and downs in the special stamp sales, but that overall there had been a healthy gradual growth.
“The macroeconomy could be a factor, as well as the different popularities enjoyed by the products depending on their themes,” he said.
The postal service provider disclosed the figures as it unveiled a series of special stamps for release next year.
Among the items was a set featuring characters created by prominent martial arts novelist Jin Yong, the pen name of Dr Louis Cha Leung-yung, whose 15 bestselling novels, written between 1955 and 1972, have been devoured by Chinese readers of all ages across the world.
The characters shown on the stamps, all designed by famous artist and veteran comic book writer Lee Chi-ching, include the legendary couples Guo Jing and Huang Rong from The Legend of the Condor Heroes as well as Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu from The Return of the Condor Heroes.
The post office will also launch its first stamp booklet with 30 stamps featuring Zhang Wuji in various tai chi poses.
“Jin’s novels are well read in the Chinese community in Greater China and overseas. The customer coverage is huge, and we believe the set will be popular,” Lee said.
Other themes for special stamps next year include Hong Kong festive customs, the Year of the Dog and the 150th anniversary of Hong Kong Fire Services.
