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Category: Business & Finance

  • Vietnam Seeks Feedback on Cambodian Tobacco Import

    Vietnam Seeks Feedback on Cambodian Tobacco Import

    Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is soliciting public feedback on a draft circular regulating import tariff quota for dried tobacco leaves originating from Cambodia for the 2025–26 period. This is a key step in implementing the Bilateral Trade Promotion Agreement between Vietnam and Cambodia, signed last month.

    According to the draft, the regulation covers the import tariff quota for dried tobacco leaves of Cambodian origin. This item will be eligible for a special preferential import duty rate of 0% when imported into Vietnam. The regulation applies to traders seeking to import under a tariff quota and to relevant organizations and individuals.

    For dried tobacco leaves, importers must obtain an import license issued by the MoIT.  

  • U.S. Tops List for Importing Dominican Cigars

    U.S. Tops List for Importing Dominican Cigars

    Iván Hernández Guzmán, the director of the Tobacco Institute of the Dominican Republic, recently offered a breakdown of the nation’s cigar export market, which he said this year will top $1.3 billion with products going to 148 countries.

    Hernández Guzmán said the United States is by far the biggest importer of Dominican cigars, accounting for 74.3% of the market at $906 million. Purchasing power, culture, and relatively low tariffs on premium cigars make the U.S. an attractive market, he said.

    The next highest importers are China $74 million (5.53%) and Germany $60 million (4.45%), followed by Belgium $26 million (1.93%), Nicaragua $22 million (1.63%), Puerto Rico $18 million (1.31%), and Spain $15 million (1.21%).

     “The tobacco of the Dominican Republic is considered a country brand and is recognized for its premium cigars that are highly appreciated nationally and internationally,” Hernández Guzmán said. “So from the government and the private sector, we are working for its greater promotion, expansion, and support.”

  • Online Retailer Acquires Wholesaler

    Online Retailer Acquires Wholesaler

    New Global Marketing, Inc., which does business as Best Cigar Prices, announced a strategic merger where Alliance Cigar will join the New Global family. Best Cigar Prices is an online retailer, established in 1997 and based in Drums, Pennsylvania, while Alliance is a wholesaler with more than 20 years in business. 

    Tom Sullivan, founder and chairman of Alliance, and Steve Kallinikos, president of Alliance, will join the leadership team as executive vice presidents and as shareholders with board representation in the combined companies. Greg Fox will continue in his leadership as president and CEO of Best Cigar Prices, Best Cigar Pub, and now Alliance.

    “This is a natural and very exciting strategic combination of our businesses,” Fox said. “We’ve known and respected each other for decades, and now we have the opportunity to grow both businesses together and to combine our best-in-class services across customer categories.”

    Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

  • Ispire Announces New CFO, Operations Savings

    Ispire Technology Inc. today announced the appointment of Jie “Jay” Yu as the new Chief Financial Officer of the company, after serving as the company’s vice president of finance since June 2023. Yu was the CFO of MTI Environmental Group from 2016 to 2018 and Luokung Technology Corp. from 2018 to 2023.

    “Jay is a well-rounded public company accountant with a strong track record of diligence and professionalism,” Michael Wang, Ispire’s co-Chief Executive Officer said. “He has excelled in his role as vice president of finance, building extensive credibility within the company and thorough knowledge of its financial and corporate structures. I look forward to working with him more closely in his new role as CFO.”

    Ispire also announced that its reduction in workforce and termination of several contractor agreements resulted in a $3.6 million savings in May 2025, and that it will look to cut an additional $6.6 million in operating expenses over the next three months, bringing the total estimated annual operating expenses cut to $10.2 million during the company’s fiscal year of 2025.

  • Imperial’s CEO, Bomhard, Retires

    Imperial’s CEO, Bomhard, Retires

    Imperial Brands announced today (May 14) that CEO Stefan Bomhard will retire after five years in the job. He will continue to serve on the company’s board until December 31 and be available until May 2026 to support the transition. Chief financial officer Lukas Paravicini will be promoted to CEO October 1.

    “While Bomhard’s retirement is disappointing, this doesn’t imply any change to the plans laid out at the company’s recent investor event,” Panmure Liberum analyst Rae Maile wrote. “The transition will be seamless given Paravicini’s skills.”

    Paravicini, CFO since May 2021, has been instrumental in driving consistent growth over the past four years and leads the long-term program to transform the company’s tech and data capabilities, the company said. Chief strategy and development officer, Murray McGowan, will replace Paravicini as CFO.

    With the news, Imperial’s shares dropped more than 7% as investors reacted to the unexpected loss of a leader credited with turning the company around. The company recently reported a 1.8% rise in first-half adjusted operating profit and reaffirmed its annual forecast after reporting market share growth in its five priority markets.

    “Prior to Bomhard’s arrival, Imperial had lost market share in its core tobacco business and failed to gain any real traction with new products like vapes, resulting in years of missed sales targets and a 2020 write-down,” Shashwat Awasthi and Emma Rumney wrote for Reuters. “Bomhard restored that market share, sales growth, and healthy investor returns by retreating to focus on traditional tobacco in Imperial’s key markets.

    “He also fine-tuned the company’s strategy on smoking alternatives – a portfolio which delivered double-digit growth in the first half of this year.”

    Paravicini told investors on an analysts’ call he was committed to Imperial’s five-year strategy set out in March and a capital allocation framework based around healthy returns for shareholders. Under that strategy, Paravicini is tasked with stepping up growth in smoking alternatives, where Imperial lags competitors, and compounding progress on tobacco in difficult markets like Germany, where Imperial has struggled to regain lost share amid stiff competition.

    Bomhard said he did not plan to take any other executive role and was retiring, and that his departure was “a very personal decision” related to freeing up personal time for himself and his family after 11 years leading large UK companies. He was previously CEO of car distributor and held senior roles at Unilever and Bacardi.

  • Philippines’ Vape Stamp System Working 

    Philippines’ Vape Stamp System Working 

    The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) says the Philippine government’s crackdown on illicit trade is working, collecting P942 million ($17 million) in excise taxes on 130 million milliliters of vape products in the six months since the vape stamp system was introduced. In 2023, those numbers were only P224 million ($4 million) and 11.2 million milliliters for the year.

    Tax authorities vowed to intensify efforts to catch and charge noncompliant players in the growing vape market.

    “There will be no letup in our fight against illicit trade,” BIR commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said. “Just recently, we filed criminal cases against importers of vape products. This shows that the campaign against the illicit trade in vape products is continuous, and we will not stop until we address this issue.”

    The BIR chief was referring to tax evasion cases filed in April against large-scale illicit vape businesses for failure to pay P8.68 billion ($156 million) in taxes. The charges involved illegal vape traders selling the brand names Flava, Denkat, and Flare. The BIR also recently combined with the Bureau of Customs to destroy P3.26 billion ($58.7 million) of seized vape products.

    Lumagui said BIR’s efforts extend beyond distributors and importers.

    “All those involved in the trade of untaxed vape products, including sellers, endorsers, and influencers, could face tax evasion charges under the tax code,” he said.

  • Philippine Government Urged to Fight Illicit Trade with Lower Taxes 

    Philippine Government Urged to Fight Illicit Trade with Lower Taxes 

    As the Philippine government is making progress against illicit vape products with tax stamps, the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) suggests it lower tax rates on cigarettes to replenish its declining revenues as the price disparity between legal and illicit products worsens. Last year, illicit tobacco incidence reached a record 18.2%.

    PTI said tax policies and illicit trade are inextricably linked as the organization pushes for the recalibration of tobacco excise taxes and enhancement of enforcement and prosecution efforts. It issued the call days before the Senate Committee on Ways and Means discusses House Bill 11360, which seeks to adopt an odd-even scheme in hiking the tobacco excise taxes: 2% every even-numbered year and 4% every odd-numbered year until 2035. The current tobacco excise tax rate increases by 5% annually, with a base tax of P60 ($1.08) per pack.

    PTI president Jericho Nograles argued that overly aggressive or automatic tax hikes can incentivize illicit trade. He said higher taxes widen the price gap between legal and illegal products, thus increasing the profitability of smuggling and counterfeiting. PTI said tax revenue continues to decline while smoking incidence increases, meaning people are switching products, that can cost P40 (72 cents) per pack versus P140 ($2.52) for legitimate ones.

     “The automatic tax hikes have resulted in declining government revenues,” Nograles said. “Our position is that if Congress lowers the rates and the government steps up in enforcement, then there would likely be better collections and revenues. It would not only be acceptable, but a win-win for industry and government when illicit trade in tobacco is stopped.”

  • Already Struggling with Illicit Trade, Pakistan Being Pushed to Raise Tobacco Taxes 

    Already Struggling with Illicit Trade, Pakistan Being Pushed to Raise Tobacco Taxes 

    Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman, Rashid Mahmood Langrial, said massive tax evasion in the tobacco sector is costing the country’s economy nearly Rs300 billion ($1.1 billion), and that, because of limited manpower, only one out of 10 trucks carrying illicit cigarettes is caught.

    Langrial said the FBR is working to train and empower local law enforcement agencies within the provinces to battle illicit trade at the retail level, and that any cigarette without a mandatory stamp is illegal and subject to seizure.

    This comes at a time when the leading legal cigarette manufacturers in Pakistan are reporting significant decreases in sales volumes, presumably because the government placed a 200% Federal Excise Duty (FED) on all brands of cigarettes in the budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Still, sources told Business Recorder that the FBR is facing strong international pressure from the World Health Organization to raise the FED further.

  • Vietnam’s Cigarettes “Too Affordable”

    Vietnam’s Cigarettes “Too Affordable”

    Between 2010 to 2022, Vietnam’s per capita income increased by 203%. Cigarette prices, however, only rose by 56%, making tobacco too affordable and encouraging consumption, Phan Thi Hai, deputy director of the Tobacco Harm Prevention Fund under the Ministry of Health said. She said Vietnam raised smoking taxes three times between 2008 and 2019, but the increases were so small they had no effect on smoking rates.

    “Vietnam’s cigarette prices remain among the lowest globally, making them easily accessible, especially to low-income groups and youth,” Hai said. She said even with the country’s 75% “special consumption tax” on tobacco products, a pack of cigarettes with a factory price of 3,900 VND (15 cents) ends up costing the consumer only 10,000 VND (39 cents). She also said in Hanoi and HCM City, there are still about 40 cigarette brands priced below 10,000 VND per pack, some as low as 7,000–8,000 VND (27 to 31 cents).

    Hai said to effectively reduce tobacco consumption, Vietnam must reform its tobacco tax policy by implementing a steady tax increase over time. This would ensure that cigarette prices keep pace with income growth and gradually approach the tax level recommended by the WHO. She proposed introducing an absolute tax of at least 5,000 VND (20 cents) per pack by 2026, increasing to 15,000 VND (60 cents) per pack by 2030, which theoretically would help reduce the adult smoking rate to below 36% for men and below 1% for women, consistent with the targets of the National Tobacco Control Strategy by 2030.

    Currently, the total tax share in the retail price of cigarettes in Vietnam is only 36%, below the WHO’s recommended 75% and lower than regional peers such as Thailand (78.6%), the Philippines (71.3%), and Singapore (67.5%).

  • 22nd Century Sees 50% Jump from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025

    22nd Century Sees 50% Jump from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025

    22nd Century Group, Inc. today (May 13) announced results for the first quarter, ended March 31, and provided an update on recent business highlights. Compared to the fourth quarter 2024, first quarter 2025 saw net revenues increase from $4 million to $6 million and gross profit losses declined from $1.3 million to $600,000. Operating expenses decreased from $2.8 million to $2 million, the lowest quarterly amount since company restructuring began in 2023, and operating losses decreased from $4.1 million to $2.6 million.

    “Our first quarter results demonstrate the positive trends we expect to build on in 2025 as we secure new opportunities to drive volume across our VLN, core CMO and filtered cigar businesses, with a particular emphasis on leveraging both our own and customer driven campaigns for partner branded products,” said Larry Firestone, CEO of 22nd Century Group. “We are excited about the upcoming launch of now two partner-branded VLN products, both for chains with substantial retail store counts, bringing additional partner-supported marketing and outreach activity to grow sales volumes in the VLN category. We are moving ahead on these and other opportunities ahead as we continue to execute our growth strategy in 2025.”

    View the full financial report here.