ENG-1998 — Page 420

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COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

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29 800 square metres and designated for film production use was put out for tender on March 27, 1998. The tender was awarded on August 12, 1998, and the successful bidder will build a state-of-the-art film studio with advanced post-production facilities.

Postal Services

Hongkong Post provides reliable, efficient and universal postal services at reasonable prices to meet the needs of Hong Kong and its international postal obligations. Since August 1, 1995, Hongkong Post has operated as a trading fund department. This gives it a higher degree of flexibility in resource management and enables it to respond more effectively to changes in markets and operating environment, improve productivity, efficiency and customer service standards and introduce new services to its customers.

In 1997, the Post Office launched its new corporate identity as Hongkong Post with a logo of a humming bird drawn like a letter 'P', the bird's wings capturing the mark of a franking machine, on a green background. The logo marks its modern image and expresses its commitment to offering excellent, customer-friendly and value-for- money services. It is displayed on posting boxes, mail vans, uniforms, postal souvenirs and publications, and is becoming a familiar sight in the streets of Hong Kong. The new corporate identity also formed the theme of a new design which was successfully piloted at the Tsz Wan Shan Post Office and Discovery Bay Post Office in January and August 1998 respectively, and which will become the standard for all Hongkong Post's branch offices.

During the year, Hongkong Post handled 1.26 billion items of mail, or a daily average of 3.5 million items, representing a decrease of 2.1 per cent over 1997. Some 81.5 per cent of the items involved were local mail and 18.5 per cent overseas mail. Some 10019 tonnes of letter mail and 2 553 tonnes of parcels were dispatched overseas by air, representing a decrease of 10 per cent from 1997. The USA, mainland of China, UK, Japan and Singapore were major partners in letter mail; Japan, the USA, Taiwan and Canada were major partners in parcels.

A reliable and efficient postal service has been important in Hong Kong's development as a leading commercial, financial and industrial centre. Hongkong Post provides two deliveries of letter mail each week day to commercial and industrial areas and one delivery to residential areas. Parcels are delivered to all addresses in Hong Kong.

Performance pledges are published for the delivery of mail, philatelic and counter services. Hongkong Post achieved or even exceeded the pledged standards in 1998. In March 1998, an independent firm was appointed to conduct the second annual survey on public perceptions of Hongkong Post's services. The overall satisfaction levels remained high, with some 94 per cent, 98 per cent and 96 per cent of customers respectively in the general public, business and philately areas 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with Hongkong Post's services.

In February, Hongkong Post embarked upon a two-year customer service training programme. More than 3 500 staff attended training courses conducted by a leading customer service consulting firm during the year. The training programme is part of a customer service project aimed at nurturing a customer-oriented culture.

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