Malaysia: BAT Exploring E-cigarette Potential

　　British American Tobacco Plc (BAT Plc), which acquired CN Creative Ltd in December last year, is exploring the e-cigarette market as interests in e-cigarette products pick up among consumers, said British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT) managing director Datuk William Toh Ah Wah.

　　"Globally, there are signs that people are willing to try out e-cigarettes and as a result, BAT Plc had recently acquired an e-cigarette company based in the UK (CN Creative) so that we can better understand this segment of the business," he told reporters after BAT's AGM yesterday.

　　"We (BAT Plc) have not launched any e-cigarette products in the market yet. We have just bought a small company to try and understand the signs, the characteristics and dynamics of e-cigarettes.

　　"In due course when we're ready, we will probably enter the e-cigarette market in countries where we believe there are potential for e-cigarette consumption. But in Malaysia, we have no plans at the moment," said Toh.

　　CN Creative is a UK based start-up company which specialises in the development and production of non-combustible cigarettes. The company has its own research and development facilities and has several e-cigarette products on the market.