JTI to establish global hub in Manila

MANILA, Philippines — Japan Tobacco International (JTI) continues to show its confidence in the Philippine market as it announced over the weekend the establishment of its Global Business Service (GBS) Center in Manila.   

JTI said the Manila GBS Center would be the company’s third global hub after the opening of two similar centers in Warsaw, Poland and St. Petersburg, Russia.

The facility will service all JTI markets in the Asia Pacific.  

It is expected to increase the operational efficiency of all JTI markets in the Asia Pacific by streamlining activities, harmonizing business processes and sharing best-practices not only in the region, but also across all the 130 countries the company operates in.

“With its hardworking, talented and English-proficient workforce, coupled with a robust business processing industry, Manila is perfectly suited to take on this very important role,” Akhtar Hannan, general manager of the GBS Center in Manila, said.

John Freda, general manager of JTI Philippines, said the new investment, which came even amid the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic, is proof of the company’s confidence in the Philippine market.

It also serves as evidence of JTI’s commitment to create jobs in support of national development, he said.

“We are pleased to add the GBS Center to our employment offerings in the Philippines further underpinning our commitment to helping the government in creating job opportunities in the country,” he said.

According to JTI, the GBS center will employ up to 350 people within the next three years, which will bring the total number of JTI employees in the Philippines to 5,000. This includes those employed in the tobacco company’s manufacturing plant in Batangas.

JTI expects the facility to  help cushion the adverse economic impact of COVID-19, which could result in the loss of thousands of jobs in the coming months. 

The global tobacco company said it expects the country’s unemployment rate to reach eight percent this year, up from 5.3 percent in January, with the economy projected to grow below one percent.  

“We thank the government for allowing us to make significant strategic investments in the Philippines over recent years,” Freda said.

In 2017, JTI built a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Batangas which is now recognized by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) as a top employer. The facility is currently being expanded.

The same year, JTI also acquired the tobacco-related assets of Bulacan-based Mighty Corp. for P46.8 billion.