Friday 27 September I t is the biggest privatisation since British Rail — and the most controversial. On Tuesday night the doors will shut for applications for shares in Royal Mailand a week later it will start trading on the stock market. If you want to take part, how do you do so?

But should you even take part at all? Early indications suggest that in purely stock market terms, the privatisation is likely to be a success.

Within hours of the formal announcement of the sell-off, big institutional investors such as pension funds, and overseas investors such as the Singapore "sovereign wealth" fund, placed so many orders for shares that the issue is almost certain to be oversubscribed. Many now expect the shares to rise on the first day of trading, making instant profits for small investors who "stag' the issue by placing an order and selling up as soon as they receive the shares.

But the greed of speculators could just as easily backfire, with warnings that strike action by postal workers within days of Royal Mail's privatisation may send the shares diving. A base offer of The government is expecting about seven out of 10 shares to be bought by big institutions in the City and overseas, and the rest by individuals. The final pricing and allocations of shares will be announced on 11 October.

If you want to buy more than that — and there is no limit on the size of application you can put in — you have to download the application and apply by post. Other options are to pop into a branch of the Post Office, or use one of the scores of sharedealing services acting as official intermediaries.

All of the major dealers for small investors, such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Halifax, Barclays, Interactive Investor and The Share Centre, are on the list of approved intermediaries stock market open on martin luther king day the sell-off.

Generally speaking, you go online to the dealer's website and open a dealing account.

You'll then have to pre-fund the account with bushak futures research & trading inc cash you want to spend on the shares. There is no charge for buying, although if you want to keep the shares in an Isa, the dealer is likely to apply a fee. If and when you sell, there will be a dealing fee.

The share offer will close at Trading will begin on the London Stock Exchange from 15 October. Share dealers are predicting high demand, based on inquiries they have so far had. But the government has said it will make additional shares available — cutting its own holding buy post office shares gov site Royal Mail — how to earn money by drawing cartoons demand is high.

Even so, it is possible that the issue could be oversubscribed. The Labour Party conference voted unanimously for a motion committing the next Labour government to renationalise Royal Mail. Communication Workers Union general secretary, Billy Hayes, says: New ipo coming dhaka stock exchange that is an odd thing to do.

The promoters of the privatisation are keen to put forward Royal Mail as an income opportunity at a time when interest rates on savings accounts are miserably low. The share price range implies an initial dividend equal to 6.

Previous privatisations, such as British Gas famous for its "Tell Sid" campaignhave given small investors huge returns — although not all have liteforex bot a success, with Railtrack's demise leaving many investors empty-handed.

Over the longer term, investors will have to take a view on the prospects for a business that has been hit hard by the decline in private letters from 84m a day in to 58m nowbut boosted by deliveries of goods bought over the internet.

Royal Mail shares: How to buy at the last minute - Telegraph

There is an official prospectus for the flotation of Royal Maildetailing the business and its outlook. Operating profit margins at Royal Mail have risen from 0. However, it's a very different business to Royal Mail, employing three times as many people and, crucially, owning global parcels business DHL. In online forums where small investors discuss the prospects for shares, such as the Motley Fool's boards, interest in the flotation is high.

As one contributor on fool. I have no interest in actual investment in such a dour sector, however on the basis HM Government are offering shares to 'Sids' like me! I do sniff some politically backed free money! But another adds, "Buy stock in a company with a disgruntled and unionised workforce that is considering strike action already?

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The Guardian - Back to home. We look at how the privatisation will happen, and how you can go about applying for shares. What is being sold?

How much will shares cost? How much can I buy and how? How do I apply through a share dealer? How long do I have to apply?

Government Services - USPS

Will I get the shares I apply for? Are they worth buying? The Guardian back to top.