International Services
The year 2003 witnessed a stable development of international services. The international parcel business maintained rapid growth, the decline of international mail service slowed down, international EMS developed steadily and international remittance business grew by leaps and bounds. The international services recorded a revenue of RMB 1.849 billion yuan, up 5.41% over the previous year. The revenue of international EMS (including those from and to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) increased by 4.87% compared with the previous year to RMB 1.11 billion yuan, that of mail letters dropped by 10.8% on a year-on-year basis to RMB 314 million yuan, that of parcel business totaled RMB 410 million yuan, 20.95% higher than that of the previous year, and that of remittance service reached RMB 15 million yuan, growing by 218.16% over the previous year. Following the market and customer needs, China Post always puts service and credibility in the first place and takes advantage of information technology in expanding the international services. In recent years, based on its new services such as SAL, bulky parcels and international priority mail, it has made remarkable achievements in the international direct mail and business reply services launched in some large and medium-sized coastal cities. Its air parcels and SAL services have become the most competitive products of the international services.
To promote the growth of international services, the electronic track and trace system for international mail is under construction, and the development of international direct mail address database software is coming to an end and will be put into trial operation very soon.
During the period of SARS epidemic, international flights were cut by 70% and a large number of international mail were kept in stock. China Post adopted emergency measures, including readjusting the international postal routes and the dispatch schedules, which quickly alleviated the overstocking of mail and helped to maintain normal state activities, fully demonstrating China Post’s capacity to cope with emergencies.
On December 1, 2003, the international EMS air postal route between Shanghai and Osaka was opened, marking that China Post has its own international air route, which enabled the next-day delivery of international EMS from Shanghai to Japan.
