Loss-making Hongkong Post braces for more challenges amid Covid-19 restrictions, pins hopes on cross-border e-commerce

Hongkong Post has recently been forced to temporarily suspend mail services to certain countries, such as Canada and Australia

The postal service sees growing opportunities in e-commerce, especially in the Greater Bay Area

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Hongkong Post is pinning its hopes on cross-border e-commerce, especially in the Greater Bay Area. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 3:00pm, 29 Jan 2022Updated: 5:53pm, 29 Jan 2022

Hong Kong’s struggling postal service is bracing itself for more challenges ahead as airfreight restrictions mount amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is banking its future on cross-border e-commerce.

Hongkong Post is government-owned but run on a self-financing basis. It recorded a HK$198 million (US$25 million) deficit in the 2020-21 financial year along with a 23 per cent drop in volume of international mail, said Postmaster General Leonia Tai Shuk-yiu, who took up the role last September.

“We anticipate the situation will remain quite challenging. We still have a lot of difficulties in seeking airfreight capacity, that’s why we still have to suspend some services,” she told the Post. “We hope that it will soon subside so airfreight operations can return to normal.”

In addition to the punishing competition in the logistics sector, the reduced cargo capacity for airlines has also contributed to the company’s challenges as the city battles a fifth wave of coronavirus cases.

Hongkong Post has recently been forced to temporarily suspend mail services to certain countries, such as Canada and Australia.