Philip Morris to make heated tobacco sticks in Philippines

$150m investment seeks to boost smokeless products in big market

20220929N IQOS

Philip Morris' handheld IQOS device heats tobacco without burning it, producing a vapor but not smoke or ash. (Photo by Yuichi Shiga)

YUICHI SHIGA, Nikkei staff writer

MANILA -- Philip Morris International will invest 8.8 billion Philippine pesos ($150 million) to start making smokeless heated tobacco sticks in the Philippines, anticipating a shift away from cigarettes.

Commercial production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023 at PMFTC, the U.S. tobacco group's local joint venture with billionaire Lucio Tan's conglomerate LT Group.

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