A draft of the amended Postal Act is expected to be sent to the Thai cabinet this month, aiming to raise the standards of postal and parcel delivery services in the digital era.
The amendments are intended to ensure healthy competition and proper supervision, said Wisit Wisitsora-at, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.
It addresses service providers of all sizes, without creating a cost burden for small operators.
“The structure of the law does not focus on strict licensing, instead using registration as the main principle of control without hindering competition,” he said.
Mr Wisit said the DES Ministry has no intention of seeing the law become an obstacle for operators and online merchants that are already registered.
The amendments focus on raising the standard of services, such as the safety of parcels, responsibility to consumers, and setting minimum standards for operations.
Previously, postal services were supervised by the Office of the Consumer Protection Board.
However, as online transport options proliferate, specific laws are needed to regulate postal activities more comprehensively, he said.
Although some operators had concerns about complicated operations or registration, Mr Wisit said the draft law will neither create additional costs nor involve complicated licensing, especially for businesses not related to the transport of people or sensitive goods.
Earlier he said the amended law covers several categories, setting a direction for new postal policies in a diverse industry, as well as the scope of supervision for related services and businesses.
Implications for Thailand Post
The amendment should also shape Thailand Post’s future business operations, especially in terms of social services and existing services that only Thailand Post has been permitted to offer, said Mr Wisit.
Certain services may be opened up to private sector competition, he said.
All postal and parcel delivery services should be supervised and regulated, said Mr Wisit.
The DES Ministry assigned Thailand Post to draft an amendment to the Postal Act of 1934 that covers the details of supervising postal and logistics services, in accordance with current business standards.
According to Thailand Post president Dhanant Subhadrabandhu, competition in the Thai express delivery market has been intensifying, especially since 2022 when several foreign players adopted below-cost or “predatory” pricing strategies.
He said global logistics players accelerated market share expansion despite huge losses.
The fierce competition affected the quality of parcel delivery services in the market, said Mr Dhanant.
According to ShipHub, a unified logistics platform service, Thailand’s express parcel delivery market continues to grow steadily, fuelled by the rapid expansion of e-commerce.
In 2024, the market value was expected to rise 17-18%, with an average daily parcel volume of 7-8 million items.
The total market value could have climbed to 115 billion baht last year, ShipHub noted.
Thailand Post remains the dominant market leader, followed by Flash Express, J&T Express and Kerry Express, according to ShipHub.
Many delivery companies posted profits last year. For example, Global JET Express (Thailand), the operator of J&T Express, reported a revenue gain of 37% to 25.4 billion baht in 2024, according to the business performance analytics platform Creden.co.
The company posted a profit of 819 million baht, compared with a loss of 7 billion baht in 2023.