SINGAPORE — From Oct 9, it will cost 51 cents to post a letter or greeting card within Singapore, up from the current 31 cents — a 64.5 per cent rise.
The rate increment is necessary for SingPost to “continue serving its obligations as Singapore’s public postal licensee while allowing further exploration of a more sustainable postal business model in the long term”, it said.
It also said that it had to balance the need to “remain viable while safeguarding the interests of its shareholders”.
Ms Neo Su Yin, SingPost’s chief executive officer for Singapore, said that the company has been absorbing inflationary costs and keeping its postage rates constant since 2014.
“With the intensifying cost pressures and challenging business landscape, it is inevitable that we raise our prices to remain commercially sustainable so that we can continue providing the essential postal service for the nation.”
She added that the company is also pursuing “strategic transformation towards e-commerce and logistics to mitigate the persistent decline in postal volumes, as well as explore business growth opportunities”.
The postal company is working closely with the Infocomm Media Development Authority to conduct a structural review of the postal business and formulate a longer-term strategy to attain commercial sustainability.
“SingPost remains committed to providing high standards of quality postal and parcel delivery services for Singapore, including provision of self-service and digital platforms, to remain innovative and relevant into the future,” the company said.