Pos Indonesia to expand storage facilities

State postal service firm PT Pos Indonesia plans to expand its warehouse facilities from 3 hectares to 3 hectares to improve its logistics services.

The land acquisition and development is estimated to cost US$250 million to $300 million.

PT Pos Indonesia president director Gilarsi Wahju Setijono did not say how the firm would finance the land procurement, but did say the company was in talks with other state-owned enterprises ( SOEs ) for asset swaps. The company has many assets in strategic locations that it could exchange for larger plots of land in other locations.

“We are asking them to exchange their plots, such as at the airport or seaport with our assets in strategic places,” Gilarsi said.

Despite having assets in strategic places, PT Pos is struggling with increasing expenditure that is eating away at its profits. It posted Rp 16 billion ( US$ 1.2 million ) in profit last year.

“Our revenue increased a bit from Rp 4.3 trillion ( US$ 324 million ) in 2014 to Rp 4.6 trillion ( US$ 326 million ) in 2015, but our expenditure increased more than our revenue,” Gilarsi said.

PT Pos is currently conducting restructuring in its logistics business. The company will also revive its financial services business, such as offering money transfers and utilizing postmen as payment agents in the next four years.

“Sixty percent of the Indonesia population do not use online banking. We’ve got many branches and will employ our postmen as payment agents,” he said.