Announced investment of 100 million dollars and 200 new jobs
When marking 20 years since the privatization of the Niš Tobacco Industry, Philip Morris International (PMI) announced a new investment worth 100 million dollars, which represents a significant step in the realization of the company’s basic vision – creating a “future without tobacco smoke”.
With this investment, the factory in Niš, which until now produced only traditional cigarettes, will start the production of a new line of smokeless tobacco products, which will be intended for export. Thanks to the latest investment, about 200 new jobs will be created. With this investment, the total investment of the Philip Morris company in operations in Serbia will exceed one billion dollars.
On that occasion, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the company Philip Morris Operations a.d. Niš (”PMOP”) and the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
The investment was announced by CEO Jacek Olczak on behalf of Philip Morris:
“Today we are taking a big step towards realizing our vision of the future in which cigarettes will be replaced by better alternatives. The PMOP factory in Niš is an excellent example of development and modernization that brings top business results through the application of modern technological solutions and innovations. Like the leadership of this country, we believe that progress in today’s world can only be brought about by constant investment in innovation and the application of new technologies. We are grateful to the Government of Serbia for creating a good business environment that allowed us to successfully operate here for 20 years, but also to continue to invest,” said Jacek Olczak, president of Philip Morris International and pointed out that with the appropriate regulatory framework and support, joint strength, we can achieve a future without tobacco smoke.
Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić signed the MoU on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and said:
“Today’s anniversary represents a new beginning for the Phillip Morris International company in Serbia, which is certainly one of the leaders in innovation, and modern technologies and which offers its consumers increasingly innovative and better solutions.” The fact that you decided on Niš and Serbia, at a time of instability in Europe, is additional proof of trust in the Republic of Serbia, and for that I sincerely thank you. Also, the investment of 5 million dollars by Philip Morris in StarTech, a project to support innovation and digital transformation of the Serbian economy, is an example of responsible business and the way in which the company supports the vision of the Government of Serbia in making our country a European center for modern technologies,” said the Prime Minister and added that she was particularly pleased that the company decided to extend the StarTech project for the next three years.
The investment announced today represents another confirmation of Philip Morris International’s trust in the factory in Nis, as well as the importance that the Republic of Serbia has for the company. Additionally, the start of production of smokeless products in the Niš factory shows that Serbia fits into the vision of the future that the Philip Morris company set before itself in 2016 – to replace all cigarettes with better alternatives as soon as possible.