Firm suspends service

 POST PNG’s Mobile SMK (salim moni kwik) service is suspended for an indefinite period, chairman Reuben Aila says.

He said the service was put on hold to work on improving it because of the competitiveness from commercial banks.

“The Mobile SMK is on suspension because we have a lot of competition in terms of banks now with mobile banking; it’s sort of cannibalising us,” Aila said.

“There are certain PINS that we need to work on and hopefully we can synergies with DataCo PNG Ltd and get Mobile SMK back into it being more competitive. 

“In future we are leveraging on banking services to a certain extent but to the grassroots people, like a post bank.”

Despite that Aila pointed out that Post PNG’s traditional SMK service was still in existence.

“Apart from the Mobile SMK, we have our traditional SMK, which is always to service the most remote people.”

Post PNG Ltd has 45 outlets across the country.

On the number of customers using postal services, he told The National that almost everyone, including business community, still needed letter boxes to send and receive parcels.

“The whole population of the country or everyone uses the postal services for their letters, village people and business people still use the postal service,” he said. “All major companies move big parcels through the postal service. 

“Although technology is there but companies, business houses use letter boxes for their parcels and statements.

“A lot of postal services around the world are going post bank and that’s something we are looking at. 

“We are basically looking at synergising our post logistics with sister companies and our traditional business parcel movement. And a partner with international companies in shipping and freighting companies because our client base is basically State-owned enterprises like PNG Power.

“Our big customers are Ela Motors, UNICEF, BOC Gas, and Agmark; it’s amazing most of our customers are in the private sector. 

“Hopefully we are leveraging on police and CIS and PNG Power, Water PNG and DataCo,” he said. 

Aila highlighted that Post PNG would for the first time in many years declare a dividend to shareholders in two months.

“Since the board has come on board in 2013 it has performed very well. Prior to us taking over we were operating at a loss. 

“Last year, Post PNG made a really good profit; this year we are giving back some money to our shareholders in the May board session,” he said.