Philip Morris International will invest PHP 8.8 billion ($150 million) to start producing tobacco pods for smokeless heating in the Philippines, with the aim of moving away from traditional cigarettes.
Commercial production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023 in a local joint venture between the US Tobacco Group and the billionaire Lucio Tan's corporate group, LT Group, under the name PMFTC.
This will mark PMI's first production of heated tobacco sticks in the Philippines. PMI announced at a press conference on Wednesday that production will take place at an existing cigarette factory in Batangas province on the island of Luzon.
PMI's handheld IQOS device heats tobacco without burning it, producing vapor but not smoke or ash. PMFTC brought IQOS to the Philippines in 2020.
PMI has announced that this investment will create 220 job openings and utilize tobacco plants grown in the Philippines.
It is estimated that over 20% of adults in the Philippines smoke, which is a higher percentage compared to Japan.
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