News Releases

Hitachi and JP Media Direct Begin Cooperative Activity
to Digitize Myanmar Post's Money Order Service

Increase the efficiency and accuracy of work performed by postal staff

Naypyidaw, Myanmar, July 5, 2016 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) and JP Media Direct Co., Ltd. today announced that they have begun, in full cooperation with the Japan Post Co., Ltd., joint activities to digitize money order service operated by Myanmar Post in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. In particular, with the aim of increasing the efficiency and accuracy of work performed by Myanmar postal staff, they will cooperate to introduce, at approximately 150 of the post offices in Myanmar, an IT system that digitizes operations that are currently performed manually.
This project will be undertaken by JP Media Direct under the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan.

In Myanmar, many people do not have bank accounts and day-to-day transactions, including transactions to pay wages and utility bills, are commonly settled by using money order service provided by Myanmar Post for sending and receiving cash. However, it requires IT system because the postal staff are performing most of their work manually in creating and issuing forms such as money orders and receipts. Furthermore, they would like to improve the money order system as international standard to fulfill customers' requirements. In light of this, in May 2015, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (presently the Ministry of Transport and Communications) of Myanmar signed a memorandum on cooperation in the postal field and, as part of the agreement, examined possible ways to send money more efficiently and securely in Myanmar.

In 2015, Myanmar Post introduced, in cooperation with Hitachi and JP Media Direct, an experimental digital money order system at 18 of its post offices. Now, based on an assessment of their cooperation and the results of using the experimental system, Hitachi and JP Media Direct will work with Myanmar Post to improve the system and to increase the number of post offices that use this system.
The system creates and issues various forms such as money orders, and automatically calculates transaction results based on information entered into the system from money transfer application forms. Furthermore, the systems of each post office are connected to Myanmar Post's common network, allowing forms to be sent and received by their computers. These features reduce the amount of work that postal staff must perform manually and help in recording transaction results, thus achieving more efficient and more secured money order services. This system is scheduled to be introduced in the latter half of 2016 and will thereafter be operated by Myanmar Post.

In the future, Hitachi and JP Media Direct will contribute to operational advancement and business expansion of Myanmar Post, by applying Hitachi's technology and expertise cultivated over its many years in the field of postal systems, and JP Media Direct's experience in assisting Myanmar Post to improve its postal operations.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2015 (ended March 31, 2016) totaled 10,034.3 billion yen ($88.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 335,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

About JP Media Direct Co., Ltd.