SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) — KT&G Corp., South Korea’s leading tobacco manufacturer, declared Thursday that it has begun the construction of its fourth overseas plant in Kazakhstan as part of its growth strategy.
KT&G plans on finishing the building of the factory by 2025 so that it can export its goods to the Eurasian region, the company said in a statement.
There was no information given regarding the amount of money invested in the project in Kazakhstan.
Last month, KT&G announced its intention to create its second plant in Indonesia, with the goal of commencing operations in 2026 and exporting products to nearby and foreign countries.
The Korean tobacco company desires to make up half of its sales from overseas businesses in 2027. It expects to generate 10 trillion won in 2027, compared with 5.9 trillion won in 2022.
While concentrating on the traditional cigarette sector, the company said it will reinforce its heat-not-burn (HNB) and health functional food product businesses.
HNB products are electronic gadgets that, unlike e-cigarettes, contain tobacco. The tobacco is heated to a high temperature without setting it alight and creating smoke that the user inhales.
KT&G has been exporting its HNB products to more than 30 countries since 2020 through the sales networks of the New York-based PMI.
The company earns 90 percent of its overall sales from the cigarette business division and the remaining 10 percent from the HNB division.
KT&G currently has four tobacco manufacturing plants, one each in South Korea, Russia, Turkey and Indonesia, whose combined capacity amounts to 13.6 billion cigarettes a year.