Tobacco agreement terminated

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) and British American Tobacco South Africa (Pty) Limited (BATSA) have jointly announced the termination of the Chesterfield License Agreement concluded between them for a number of countries in Southern Africa.

Under this licence agreement, which was concluded in 1981 between PMI and BATSA's predecessor, BATSA was granted exclusive rights to manufacture, distribute and sell tobacco products bearing the Chesterfield trademark in South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

From January 1, 2008, PMI's local affiliate, Philip Morris South Africa (Pty) Ltd will assume responsibility for the Chesterfield trademark in South Africa and the other countries covered by the licence agreement.