中文

KT&G's overseas sales surpassed domestic sales and ranked among the top five multinational companies in the world.


According to the "Korea IT Times" reported on January 18, South Korea's largest tobacco manufacturer KT & G said that the company's overseas cigarette sales in 2015 reached 46.5 billion, far higher than the domestic sales of 40.6 billion.  This is the first time that the overseas cigarette sales have surpassed the domestic market since the establishment of the company. It was a magnificent turning point in these efforts.

 In 1999, when KT&G was still a state-owned enterprise, its overseas market sales were less than 2.6 billion.  However, since the company was privatized in 2002, its overseas market has grown rapidly.

 2012 was the tenth year of KT&G's privatization, with its overseas cigarette sales reaching 40.7 billion, an increase of more than 15 times that of the 28.5 billion in 2005.

 46.5 billion is the highest historical record since the company exported cigarettes to overseas markets.  As of 2015, its cumulative sales of cigarettes overseas have reached 540 billion.

 By region, KT&G's overseas market sales were ranked in the Middle East (48.8%), Asia Pacific (25.4%), Latin America and Europe (14.2%), CIS countries and Central Asia (11.5%).

 According to the brand, the overseas sales of KT&G's three best-selling cigarette brands, Ai Xi, Pine and Time, accounted for 55.5%, 29.2% and 5.3% respectively.

 Strategically, KT&G has fully promoted the ultra-fine cigarette brand “Ai Xi” and successfully entered the markets of the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, North America and South America.

 At the same time, KT&G continues to adopt local production strategies in overseas markets with the aim of rapidly supplying products to various markets, which has played an important role in promoting overseas cigarette sales.  Since 2008, KT&G has established cigarette factories in Turkey, Iran and Russia, thus accelerating the pace of global expansion.

 In addition, KT&G has taken a bold M&A initiative: in 2011, it acquired the sixth largest tobacco manufacturer in Indonesia.

 KT&G's overseas cigarette sales are expected to grow 8% year-on-year to 2.22 billion boxes.  South Korea's financial services company, Eastern Securities, predicts that KT&G's overseas sales will increase by 13.4% year-on-year to 788.6 billion won due to the weak Korean won and the average selling price of goods.

 KT&G said: “As domestic cigarette demand is declining; we have turned our attention to overseas markets. Our efforts to expand globally have paid off. We have successfully ranked among the top five tobacco manufacturers in the world. From now on, we will be developed countries have a head-on confrontation with global tobacco manufacturers."