- Philip Morris (NYSE:PM) is fighting to keep a toehold in India's $11B tobacco market, as the government considers further tightening foreign investment rules in the sector, according to documents seen by Reuters.
- "The proposed ban will impact our future investments in India and also force a review of our overall operations, including tobacco crop purchases," Martin King, Philip Morris' Asia president, wrote on Oct. 13 to NITI Aayog, India's most influential government think-tank that has a say in federal policies.
- India outlawed foreign investment in cigarette manufacturing in 2010. While tobacco firms are still allowed to invest through tech collaboration, licensing agreements and trading companies, the government has been considering whether to stop these.