PMI may make Marlboros in China

PMI may make Marlboros in China

BEIJING: China's state-run tobacco monopoly reached an agreement on Wednesday with Philip Morris Incorporated (PMI) for the licensed manufacture of the Marlboro brand of cigarettes in China.

The China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) would also set up an international joint venture with PMI to market Chinese- brand cigarettes abroad, said a joint press release by the two companies.

"The agreements signed today with PMI will allow us to exert our strengths and create significant opportunities for sustained long-term mutual growth and commercial success on a global scale", said Li Keming, deputy chief administrator of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.

The Marlboro brand, owned by PMI, will be produced under license at CNTC's affiliate factories and will be distributed by CNTC's official distributors nationwide in China.

Trial production began last year in anticipation of the agreement, with formal production expected to begin in early 2006. -- AFP