Acquisitions and disposals
 

January
Williams Lea buys the UK company The Stationery Office, the public-sector leader in printing services and document management.

June
Deutsche Post World Net acquires a 49% stake in the US air transport company ASTAR Air Cargo.

Deutsche Post World Net acquires a 49% interest in US company Polar Air Cargo.

September
Postbank sells BHW Lebensversicherung AG as well as its interest in PB Versicherung AG and PB Lebensversicherung AG to Talanx AG.

Partnerships and joint ventures
 

May
DHL expands its joint venture with India’s Lemuir Group, thereby consolidating its leading position on the Indian logistics market.

September
DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo set up the joint air freight carrier AeroLogic, with flight operations set to begin in April 2009.

December
DHL Exel Supply Chain concludes a five-year contract worth over €200 million with UK furniture and fittings retailer MFI.

Products and services
 

January
DHL is the first international logistics service provider to offer a domestic air freight service in China.

February
DHL announces plans to substantially expand capacities in Dubai where the first fully integrated logistics platform and the world’s largest airport are taking shape.

June
Deutsche Post plans to open around 600 outlets in the new Postpoint format in Germany.

October
Williams Lea takes over Deutsche Post’s document management business with over 2,500 employees in Germany.

November
Germany’s federal network agency approves Deutsche Post’s pricing proposal. Prices for the domestic and international dispatch of letters and postcards will remain unchanged in 2008.

DHL is building a new US$175 million north Asian hub in Shanghai with a view to serving China and other north Asian markets beginning in 2010.

Group milestones
 

March
The DHL Innovation Center is opened in Troisdorf near Bonn, Germany. It is here that the Group brings together all entities entrusted with managing technical innovations.

May
The Annual General Meeting approves a dividend of €0.75 per share for 2006, which represents a 7.1% increase on the previous year.

July
Dr Hans-Dieter Petram and Prof. Dr Wulf von Schimmelmann retire from office. New to the Board of Management are Jürgen Gerdes, responsible for the mail and parcel business in Germany, and Dr Wolfgang Klein, who is also chairman of the Board of Management at Postbank.

October
John Allan becomes Chief Financial Officer, Dr Frank Appel Board member responsible for the LOGISTICS Division.

The European Council passes a resolution to liberalise the European mail markets. In Germany, the market will already open up fully on 1 January 2008.

November
With its Roadmap to Value, the Group presents an elaborate capital markets programme.

December
The German Bundestag and Bundesrat stipulate a minimum wage for mail carriers, which comes into effect on 1 January 2008.