Zhejiang Operator of Provincial Tobacco Industry Converted Into Limited liability Company

Source from:  Zhejiang Daily newspaper and tobacco.gov.cn 12/06/2007

The State-run Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco industry Corporation – the operator of the manufacturing sector of the tobacco industry in east China's Zhejiang Province – has been converted into a limited liability company named Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. on the basis of systemic reform. On November 30, a grant ceremony was held to unveil the nameboard for Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. Because of the conversion, Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. has become the fourth provincial-level tobacco manufacturing enterprise in China adopting the system of the Board of Directors after systemic reform and renaming. It also meant yet another major strategic step taken by the tobacco industry of Zhejiang in the wake of the merger and reorganization between the former Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Corporation and its subordinate Hangzhou and Ningbo Cigarette Factories in September 2006. Present at the unveiling ceremony were Deputy Director-General Zhang Hui of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, Vice-Chairman Ye Rongbao of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress, Board of Directors Chairman Xu Wangying and General Manager Zhang Yishan of Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. and other dignitaries. Since the merger and reorganization in September 2006, Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd., in accordance with its conversion from an administrative operator into a corporate entity, has managed to rectify its operating systems and mechanisms, reform the structure of resources, set up relevant operation platforms and establish new working systems, keeping making great achievements in both production and marketing. From January to October, Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. produced 78.9 billion cigarettes (1.578 million cases), up 10.6 percent year-on-year, sold 79.1 billion cigarettes (1.582 million cases), up 13 percent year-on-year, and generated 13.67 billion yuan (1.82 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes and profits, up 23.4 percent year-on-year. In the 10-month period, Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. also saw its key competitive cigarette brands develop relatively greatly, with the sales volume of Liqun, The Great Red Eagle and The Lion going up 53.4 percent year-on-year, and with the proportion of the sales volume of the three brands in the total cigarette sales volume of the company increasing by 16 percent year-on-year. In future, Zhejiang Provincial China Tobacco Industry Co., Ltd. will, in accordance with the requirement of the modern enterprise system (corporate system), keep improving its corporate governance structure, strengthening its internal management and promoting its production and marketing to a higher level. Enditem