STMA Approves Relocation of Cigarette Factory in South China

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 12/02/2009

The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) - the regulator of China's tobacco industry - has recently approved the project of technical transformation and relocation to a new site of Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd., which is Hongta Tobacco Group's sole tobacco manufacturing subsidiary in south China's Hainan Province. With a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan (172 million U.S. dollars), the project will be started by the end of 2009 and is expected to last three years. The project of technical transformation and relocation of Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. is a priority construction project of Hainan Province for 2009. When the project is completed, the new Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. will have an annual cigarette production capacity of 15 billion cigarettes (300,000 cases), and will have a total construction area of 135,170 square meters. It is expected that in the first year after entry into operation, the new Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. will generate 1.07 billion yuan (153 million U.S. dollars) in taxes and profits, which will rapidly grow year-on-year. Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. is the only tobacco manufacturing enterprise in Hainan Province, which was established on the basis of reform and renaming of the former Hainan Cigarette Factory. Today, Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. mainly produces cigarettes using Hongta's national-level famous brands of Mount Hongtashan, Gonghexinxi and Hongmei, as well as its own brand of Coconut King. Recently, Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. has developed a new product named Coconut King (Hard Golden), which will go on the market by the end of the year. Designed as a high-grade product for tourism and business, Coconut King (Hard Golden) is expected to become a new point of economic growth for Hainan Hongta Cigarette Co., Ltd. Enditem