Hong Kong's postage rates to rise in October

First time to adjust fees in 10 years.

According to a report, Hongkong Post will adjust the principal postage rates from October 1, and will seek to adjust certain postal fees from December 1 pending Legislative Council approval.

The fees have not been adjusted for more than a decade, and are being raised due to rising operating costs. These have not been offset by revenue, and the Post Office Trading Fund started to incur an operating loss in 2011-12.

The postage for local letters of 30 grams or less will rise from $1.40 to $1.70. For air mail, the cost to mail letters of 20 grams or less to places such as the Mainland and Singapore will go up from $2.40 to $2.90. For surface mail to the Mainland, postage for letters of 20 grams or less will be adjusted from $1.80 to $2.20, while that to Singapore will go up from $2.30 to $2.80.

The Post Office (Amendment) Regulation 2013 will be tabled in the Legislative Council, and would adjust certain postal fees under the Post Office Regulations (Cap.98A), including rental fees for postal boxes and private bags, fees for redirection of postal packets, fees for registration and compulsory registration and fees for recorded delivery.