Investors rushed to buy a stake in China’s state-run tobacco monopoly yesterday, pushing shares in the world’s largest cigarette maker’s international unit up 10 per cent in its trading debut on Hong Kong’s stock exchange.
China Tobacco International raised HK$813m ($103m) in an initial public offering, part of the group’s push to sell more cigarettes in international markets as the number of smokers in mainland China begins to decline.
Acting as the international division of China National Tobacco, the unit buys leaves from countries such as Brazil and the US for its parent company, and has exclusive rights to sell Chinese-made cigarettes at duty free stores in several Asian territories.