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British American Tobacco will establish a new center for the production of smokeless products in Pécs (southwestern Hungary), and the investment of around HUF 60 billion (EUR 152 million) will create 450 new jobs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday.
The Minister underlined that the British company’s development in Hungary will increase production capacity, and the production of new products will be relocated here, making Pécs a global manufacturing center for smokeless products. 450 new jobs will be created and the HUF 60 billion investment will be one of the largest one-off investments in the history of the Baranya County seat.
He stressed that British American Tobacco, one of the world’s leading tobacco companies, already employs almost a thousand people in Hungary, and the investment announced today makes it clear that Pécs will continue to play an extremely important role in the company’s long-term strategy. In his speech, he also pointed out that the project will also contribute to the success of two important Hungarian economic policy objectives. Firstly, as an export-oriented country, the economy is highly dependent on exports, and the company will sell more than 80 percent of its products produced here on foreign markets, he said. Secondly, that the government is pursuing a responsible policy of increasing economic output while respecting the environment, and the Pécs tobacco factory is now carbon neutral.
The Minister said that there was a serious imbalance between the economic situation and the ability to attract investment between the eastern and western parts of Hungary, but the government had worked hard to overcome this. “Now it is time to concentrate our efforts on developing the southwestern part of the country.
From now on, the geographical focus of investment incentives will shift to southwestern Hungary, to Southern Transdanubia,”
he said.
Usman Zahur, Regional Director for Central Europe at British American Tobacco, pointed out that the Pécs unit could become a major global center for the production of smokeless alternatives, building on more than 30 years of cooperation with Hungary. “This significant investment is an important step towards a smoke-free world, offering smokers better alternatives to cigarettes,” he said. “The investment further reinforces Hungary’s strategic importance in our long-term plans to have 50 percent of our revenues from new category products by 2035. Our manufacturing capabilities, highlighted by the Pécs center, are key to achieving this goal,” he added.
Via MTI, Featured image: X/BAT