British American Tobacco to invest $942 million in Romania

British American Tobacco (BAT) plans to invest 800 million euros ( $942 million) in its factory in Ploiesti in the next five years.

The company said the investment in Ploiesti in the next five years is a proof of its commitment to Romania. Currently, 60 percent of the products made in Romania go to export in 45 other countries and the share will increase to 70 percent due to the new investments.

BAT has invested some 310 million euros ($365 million) in its Ploiesti factory, where it has about 800 employees. The new investments will turn the Ploiesti factory into one of the top 5 factories the group has worldwide.

U.S. tobacco company Philip Morris International, one of BAT’s main competitors, also announced 490 million euros ($577 million) investments at its factory in Otopeni in July last year. Philip Morris also started producing tobacco consumables for heating devices in Romania.