Key Points
- JTI-AMC is investing ₱2.1 billion, or about $37 million, in its Batangas manufacturing site.
- About ₱1.9 billion is allocated to JTI's first Dry Ice Expanded Tobacco, or DIET, facility in Southeast Asia.
- More than ₱177 million has been invested in an expanded Controlled Atmosphere treatment facility, which became operational in July and doubled treatment capacity.
- The Batangas plant serves the Philippine market and exports to 22 overseas markets; JTI says the site serves 23 global entities including the Philippines.
- DIET is a tobacco-processing technology used ahead of cigarette manufacturing, not a production line for Ploom or other reduced-risk products.
2Firsts
September 24, 2026
According to BusinessMirror on September 23, JT International Asia Manufacturing Corp., or JTI-AMC, has invested ₱2.1 billion, or about $37 million, in its manufacturing facility in Malvar, Batangas, Philippines, to add a Dry Ice Expanded Tobacco, or DIET, plant and expand raw-material treatment capacity.
About ₱1.9 billion, or roughly $34 million, of the investment is allocated to JTI's first DIET facility in Southeast Asia. More than ₱177 million, or about $3 million, has been spent on expanding the site's Controlled Atmosphere, or CA, treatment facility.
JTI Adds Its First Southeast Asia DIET Facility
DIET is a tobacco-processing technology that uses dry ice to expand tobacco, changing how the raw material is prepared before cigarette manufacturing.
JTI says the process is intended to improve consistency and efficiency in tobacco processing.
Amir Vajdi, JTI-AMC factory lead for the Philippines, said the Batangas facility's existing manufacturing capabilities and technical expertise made it a natural location for JTI's first DIET plant in Southeast Asia.
JTI also operates DIET facilities elsewhere in Asia, including Bangladesh and Japan.
The DIET project is part of conventional tobacco-processing infrastructure used ahead of cigarette manufacturing. It is not a production line for Ploom heated-tobacco products or other reduced-risk products.
Controlled Atmosphere Capacity Doubles
JTI has also spent more than ₱177 million to expand the Batangas site's Controlled Atmosphere treatment facility.
The expansion became operational in July 2026 and doubled the facility's treatment capacity.
The CA facility supports controlled treatment and preservation of tobacco raw materials before they move into later manufacturing stages.
Together, the DIET and CA projects expand the site's capabilities across several stages of raw-material preparation ahead of cigarette production.
Batangas Plant Exports to 22 Overseas Markets
JTI says the Batangas facility is one of its major manufacturing hubs in Asia, producing cigarettes for the Philippine market while exporting to 22 overseas markets.
JTI's corporate website describes the plant as serving 23 global entities, including the Philippines.
The factory occupies about 13 hectares within the PEZA-accredited LIMA Technology Center special economic zone and currently employs around 800 people.
JTI began commercial operations at the site in 2017.
JTI Continues Investing in Conventional Tobacco Manufacturing
JTI operates both conventional tobacco and reduced-risk product businesses in the Philippines.
According to the company's website, JTI has more than 5,600 employees across 41 locations in the country, spanning market operations, the Batangas plant, Manila-based Global Business Services and a nationwide sales network.
Its Philippine portfolio includes cigarette brands such as Winston, Camel and Mevius, while the company has also entered the reduced-risk product category with Ploom heated tobacco and Nordic Spirit nicotine pouches.
The latest ₱2.1 billion investment, however, is focused on tobacco raw-material processing and conventional cigarette manufacturing infrastructure.
JTI says it will continue investing in the Batangas facility, its workforce and manufacturing technologies over the long term.
The project comes as JTI continues to expand reduced-risk products such as Ploom while also upgrading conventional tobacco manufacturing assets in Asia.
Philippines Remains a Key Asian Manufacturing Node
The Batangas plant combines domestic supply and export functions.
With the new DIET facility, it becomes JTI's first manufacturing site in Southeast Asia equipped with the tobacco-expansion technology, joining existing DIET operations in Bangladesh and Japan.
The investment expands the Batangas site's role in JTI's Asian tobacco-processing and cigarette-manufacturing network.
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Cover Image: JTI / BusinessMirror
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