TNT up as clarity on Dutch mail market nears

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Shares in Dutch mail company TNT NV (TNT.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 2 percent on Friday after a newspaper reported parliament backs liberalisation of the Dutch mail market as of July 1, causing relief among investors.

The Dutch government will discuss the liberalisation of the Dutch mail market on Friday, and Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported a majority of parliament supports an opening of the market as of July 1.

TNT shares were up 1.7 percent at 25.78 euros by 0742 GMT after hitting 25.94 euros earlier.

"It looks like investors are relieved now that there will finally be clarity on the liberalisation of the Dutch mail market," Rik Zwaneveld, a trader at AFS Brokers said.

In December the Dutch government postponed the full opening of its mail market, originally due in January, on fears Germany's plans to introduce a relatively high minimum wage for postal workers would impede competition there.

One condition for the market opening in the Netherlands was a level playing field in Germany. Dominant Dutch mail company TNT (TNT.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) argues this does not exist because the planned minimum wage was set too high for it to compete effectively with Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

In March a German court ruled that the planned minimum wage did not conform with the law.

"Although we believe the uncertainty around the appeal of the German state vs the court's decision to declare the minimum wage illegal still leads to an uncertain competitive situation for TNT in Germany, parties are apparently willing to accept the first ruling as a good indicator," Rabo Securities analyst Philip Scholte said in a note.

(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Quentin Bryar)