MaltaPost p.l.c. is the postal service company in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. The

public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freel ...

took over the

postal services The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

previously carried out by Posta Limited, and started operating on 1 May 1998.

History

MaltaPost p.l.c. was registered with the Malta Registry of Companies as a public limited company on 16 April 1998. It took over from Posta Limited on 1 May of that year. On 31 January 2002, MaltaPost was partially privatized when the government sold 35% to Transcend Worldwide Ltd, a subsidiary company of New Zealand Post Ltd. In September 2007 the government sold 25% of its shareholding in MaltaPost to Lombard Bank plc, which effectively became the majority shareholder in the company with 60% shareholding. The other 40% were sold to the public in January 2008. In 2011 MaltaPost carried out a series of reforms, including adopting a new logo. MaltaPost inaugurated the Malta Postal Museum in June 2016.

Stamps

MaltaPost issued its first stamps on 27 May 1998, and the issue consisted of a set of 4 commemorating the International Year of the Ocean. Less than a year after MaltaPost took over, in early 1999, the German company

Bundesdruckerei Bundesdruckerei ("Federal Press", short form: BDr) produces documents and devices for secure identification and offers corresponding services. It is based in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. In addition to complete passport and ID card syste ...

began printing Maltese stamps instead of the local company Printex Limited. MaltaPost's first definitive was issued between 1999 and 2003, and it showed Maltese flowers. In 2004, Printex began printing Maltese stamps once again. Since then, the number of sets per year has increased and photography began to be used more often on stamps, especially in 2008–2009. Many recent issues are based on paintings or photos or graphic designs designed by MaltaPost itself. Many stamps are based on local topics, and English is the predominant language on stamps. MaltaPost takes part in various stamp issuing programmes including EUROPA and SEPAC. Since 2003 there have been a lot of sets with high values when standard local postage is €0.30.

Outlets

GvR post box, Senglea, Malta - Flickr - sludgegulper

Postal hubs

There are 4 hubs in

and 1 in

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After ...

, each locality in Malta and Gozo is under one of these hubs.

Post offices

A code starting with "R" indicates a Branch Post Office (BPO), and one with "S" indicates a Sub Post Office (SPO). The latter are usually located in shops such as stationers. Currently (September 2015) MaltaPost operates 35 BPOs (including 5 in Gozo) and 28 SPOs (including 3 in Gozo).

Other

There are an additional 431 authorized stamp vendors in Malta and Gozo. Letterboxes are also found in practically every locality.

Postal codes

MaltaPost initially continued to use postal codes as they were in the 1990s. In 2007 they changed the postcodes of all addresses in the Maltese Islands. Each code consist of three letters, that differ by locality, and four numbers, for example MTP 1001 (the postcode of MaltaPost's main complex in Marsa).

References

External links

Official website

Philatelic Bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltapost Communications in Malta Companies of Malta Members of the Small European Postal Administration Cooperation Philately of Malta Transport companies established in 1998 Postal system of Malta Postal organizations Companies listed on the Malta Stock Exchange 1998 establishments in Malta