Altria Group Inc (MO)

[EZ2]

Philip Morris eyeing Philippines, Singapore as hub
Wed Jul 4, 2007 6:11AM EDT
MANILA, July 4 (Reuters) - Tobacco group Philip Morris International is looking to invest $80 million either in the Philippines or Singapore for a regional facility, a Philippine government official said on Wednesday.

Armand Arreza, administrator of Subic Bay, a business zone north of Manila, told reporters he was confident the Philippines would clinch the deal as the U.S. firm's local arm was set to invest $20 million for new equipment and a tobacco leaf warehouse at Subic.

"It's a question of cost and efficiency," Arreza said.

Aside from the Philippines, Philip Morris International buys tobacco leaves from Vietnam and Indonesia and the company is looking for a regional tobacco leaf warehousing and transhipment hub, Arreza said.

In 2003, Philip Morris,part of the Altria Group Inc (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), spent $300 million on a cigarette manufacturing plant in Batangas City just south of the capital with an annual capacity of 30 billion sticks.