Hongkong Post has applied to the legislature for a $4.6 billion grant from the government to support its operations over the next three years and cover the renovation of the Airmail Centre.
According to one paper submitted by the Bureau of Commerce and Economic Development to the Legislative Council Panel (LegCo) on Economic Development on Wednesday, Hongkong Post suffered a loss of HK$821 million in the 2024-25 financial year.
It was a record high loss since Hongkong Post began operating a self-financing model in 1995.
The LegCo panel is set to discuss the aid application on Tuesday next week.
Hongkong Post has seen a decline in mail volume since 2019, according to the paper. The volume of mail it handled “declined at an average rate of about 7% per year from 2019-20 to 2024-25 with a cumulative decline of 44%, which is expected to continue or even worsen in the years ahead.”
The postal service attributed the decline to the geopolitical situation, the rise in popularity of electronic communication and the increase in the number of competitors.
The HK$4.6 billion grant will also cover the HK$510 million renovation of the Air Mail Center at Hong Kong International Airport.
In 2021, LegCo’s Finance Committee (FC) approved more than HK$4.61 billion to redevelop the old airmail hub.
However, the government canceled the redevelopment project last year, citing a projected decline in airmail volumes in the coming years.
According to the newspaper, Hongkong Post has instead proposed a “more cost-effective” plan, which involves renovating the 28-year-old Air Mail Centre.
