22-Dec-2006

UK companies looking to capitalise on business opportunities afforded by the EU enlargement into Bulgaria and Romania will welcome substantial investment by TNT Express in new line haul connections and depots, to facilitate trade from the start of the New Year.

As one of the world's leading express delivery companies TNT Express is well placed to capitalise on increased flows of parcels and goods into and out of the latest EU member states.

Marie-Christine Lombard, Group Managing Director of TNT Express, said: "Large multinational manufacturing companies have invested and will continue to invest heavily in these new EU countries. Therefore, international transport between the two new EU-countries and the EU is projected to boom with growth rates of around 30% per year. As a result of the open borders we will be able to reduce transit times by one day. We will see cross-border opportunities develop between the neighbouring countries and the rest of the European Union. TNT is determined to capture this growth and expand its services, thereby underlining its position as first choice for customers.

"We want to continually deliver upon our strategic intent to establish the leading position in emerging markets and be able to reach the ambitious growth targets we have set ourselves. We will continue to capture the current high growth in Eastern Europe."

In Bulgaria, TNT Express has developed new domestic line hauls which allow offering same day export from the South-Eastern Bulgaria region as well as Central, Northern and North-Western Bulgaria. For 2007, it is planned to further develop the North Bulgaria line haul to enable same day export for the North-Eastern Bulgaria region as well.

In Romania, TNT Express is well equipped to gain from the increased trade between the EU countries. TNT has developed the largest network in Romania with three international depots in Otopeni, Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca. Investments have focused on improvement of the infrastructure and the line haul network. Transit times have been reduced from two days to one, for documents and parcels, import and exports, between Romania and all EU countries.