British American Tobacco has signed an agreement with the provincial government of Sichuan to build a cigarette factory at Mianyang, Sichuan province, Bloomberg reported. The company did not say how much money was involved in the project.
The news appeared a few days after China National Tobacco, which regulates the country's 146 cigarette makers, reiterated its ban on new joint ventures imposed several years ago. Xinhua stated that domestic production capacities far exceeded demand and that there was no need for new cigarette plants.