BAT And Eastern Company Renew Cooperation Agreement

Source from:  www.zawya.com 02/23/2009

Manufacture and sale of Viceroy brand cigarettes key component of the agreement Cairo, Egypt - Building on the original five-year agreement signed in 2004, British American Tobacco Egypt (BAT)British American Tobacco Egypt (BAT) and Eastern CompanyEastern CompanyEastern Company have renewed their cooperation agreement for a period of five years, beginning Feb. 19, 2009 and ending Feb. 18, 2014. This agreement allows for the joint production of Viceroy brand cigarettes, with Eastern CompanyEastern CompanyEastern Company responsible for the production of the cigarettes while British American Tobacco Egypt assumes responsibility for the marketing and sale of the cigarettes. "The past five years has seen the continued success of the Viceroy brand in the Egyptian market," says Beverley Spencer-Obatoyinbo, General Manager of BATBAT Egypt. "Our partnership with ECEC has been one of trust and mutual respect, utilizing each other's expertise to better serve our customers, and I am confident that we will achieve even more success together moving forward." "Through our extensive experience in the Egyptian market, we have been able to secure the trust and confidence of multinational companies," says Engineer Nabil Abdel Aziz, Chairman of Eastern CompanyEastern CompanyEastern Company. "The renewal of the cooperation agreement is a fine example of this, and I am extremely confident that our success will continue by providing the best brands to our customers." About British American Tobacco Egypt: BATBAT began its operations in Egypt in 1905 - by acquiring majority shares in Maspero Freres Company - three years after the creation of British American Tobacco in 1902. Following the nationalization of the company in Egypt in 1950, BATBAT only re-entered the market in 2001. Currently employing almost 300 people across the country, BATBAT Egypt operates from five locations - Cairo, Alexandria, Tanta, Mansoura and Minia - and produces three brands of cigarettes, Kent, Rothmans and Viceroy through manufacturing and marketing agreements with local manufacturer, Eastern CompanyEastern CompanyEastern Company BATBAT, a strong advocate of anti-underage smoking, has previously partnered with global oil and gas company Total to launch a Youth Smoking Prevention initiative in its outlets and is looking to expand the project across Egypt. Enditem