TALLINN - The Ministry of Economy and Communications last week gave permission to Eesti Post (Estonian Post) to acquire one-third of a joint venture to be set up with Kazakhstan Post.
The joint venture, which will be established by Estonian Post's subsidiary AS Eesti Elektronpost and Kazakhstan Post, would have registered capital of $200,000.
Kazakhstan Post first expressed interest in Eesti Elektronpost's operations during a state visit by President Arnold Ruutel last year.
Specifically, the Kazakhs want assistance in surmounting the country's vast territory and poor quality of postal service, where mail moves slowly and with great losses. This, in turn, has a negative effect on the Central Asian country's business environment, the Estonian ministry said.
For Estonia, the Kazakh postal services market has great potential, and if Eesti Elektronpost is successful it has a chance to become a significant player in a market significantly larger than Estonia's, the ministry said.
Also, Kazakhstan may become a platform from which Eesti Elektronpost can expand to other countries in that region.
Eesti Elektronpost has long experience in rapid printing, enveloping and mailing of letter correspondence. Majority owned by Eesti Post, Eesti Elektronpost was founded in 1995 as a subsidiary of Eesti Post and Finnish Mail.
