Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa: PTG to Expand Operations

- $20 Million Investment to Increase Production, Create Jobs

ARUA, Uganda, March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pan African Tobacco Group (PTG) Founder Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa today announced a $20 million (USD) expansion to the company's processing and production operations in northern Uganda that will directly create 700 new jobs and support thousands more throughout East Africa.

The investment will allow for construction of a new 30,000 square-meter warehouse and a new factory that will process 10 tons of green tobacco per hour. PTG already has a strong presence in northern Uganda; it invests $18 million each year in tobacco farming in the area. That amount is expected to double over the next five years to meet demand, Ayabatwa said.

"This expansion will allow us to create new good-paying jobs in an important part of Africa," Ayabatwa said. "It will also allow us to farm and process tobacco more efficiently and cost effectively. I couldn't be more delighted about this investment."

The expansion project will create 100 permanent and 600 seasonal jobs in northern Uganda and support another 6,000 tobacco farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 3,000 in South Sudan; and 14,000 in Uganda.

"As I settle into my retirement, leaving day-to-day operations to our able directors and managers, I am confident that the future of PTG is bright," said Ayabatwa, who announced his retirement earlier this year.  

PTG produces five distinct tobacco brands - Forum, Supermatch, Peterfield, Legends and Yes - which are manufactured and marketed throughout Africa; they are sold in 27 of the continent's 54 nations, including almost all of Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information about PTG and its founder Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa, log on to: www.panafricantobaccogroup.com

Media Contact:
Erin Billings, Podesta Group
media@tribertrujugiro.org
+1-202-448-5204