The ministers of communications and finance have announced a new outline that will promote the sale of 100 percent of the shares of the postal company
The ministers sign the new outline. Source: Ministry of Communications spokeswoman
Minister of Communications Yoaz Handel announced today (Thursday) his intention to promote the complete privatization of 100 percent of the state’s holdings in the Israel Postal Company. The decision was made after a series of discussions with the participation of the professional echelons in the Ministry of Finance and in cooperation with the Companies Authority. According to the professional levels, complete privatization of the postal company is a long-term solution to the structural problems of the postal company and the postal services to the public.
The country is tired of pouring in hundreds of millions of shekels
In 2018, the state began a process of partial privatization by selling a 20 percent stake in the postal company to a private investor. Now, however, the Ministry of Communications has come to the conclusion that anyone who was supposed to receive a package or enter a post office, has long since arrived, and that is that the model did not achieve its goal. According to the ministry’s professional sources, as long as the state remains in control of the postal company, it will be required to inject hundreds of millions of shekels every few years to regulate the company’s activities.
Today, the Minister of Communications, Yoaz Handel, and the Minister of Finance, Avigdor Lieberman, announced a new privatization outline. As part of the outline, an IPO of up to 40 percent of the shares of the postal company will be promoted to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in the first phase; At the same time, the Minister of Communications and the Minister of Finance will promote the sale of the rest of the state’s shares in the postal company through a private sale, or an offering or any combination of them – until the sale of all state holdings. If the offering does not materialize for various reasons, the state will promote the sale of all the shares.
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Meanwhile, competition is intensifying
Simultaneously with the implementation of the privatization outline, the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Finance announced that they would update the regulation on the postal market and the postal company, as part of the amendment to the Postal Law currently being discussed in the Economics Committee. The proposed reform includes expanding competition in the field of letter sending; The stimulus for the transition to digitization; Changing the method of price control; Reduction of regulation and higher fines for violations of license provisions.
The Minister of Communications, Yoaz Handel, said in response to the new outline: “Since I took office, I have been warned not to touch the mail. Communications ministers, one after the other, refrained from touching this hot potato. Today we are embarking on a new path in the postal market in Israel. Open to competition, lower regulation, and bring historic reform in the mail. The letter market is fading and the parcel market is growing, and in this reality we are making a big change today that will bring Israeli citizens a new era of quality, efficient and advanced postal services. ” Handel added: “As I did in the communications infrastructure, when we returned Israel to a path of huge investment in infrastructure, it was time for the postal services to undergo a change. We will act with no common sense and in cooperation with the dedicated employees. “Thank you to the Minister of Finance Lieberman for the joint work in implementing this reform.”
Yaniv Avital
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