Pinpoint Growth Sectors and Identify Factors Driving Change within the Malaysian...

Thu May 1, 2008 9:06pm EDT

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Pinpoint Growth Sectors and Identify Factors Driving Change within the Malaysian Tobacco Industry

DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c90661) has announced the
addition of "Tobacco in Malaysia" to their offering.

Euromonitor's Tobacco in Malaysia report offers a comprehensive
guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It
provides the latest retail sales data (2001-2006), allowing you to
identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading
companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key
factors influencing the market - be they new legislative, distribution
or pricing issues. Forecasts to 2011 illustrate how the market is set
to change.

Product coverage includes: cigarettes, cigars and smoking tobacco.

Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company
shares and brand shares.

Why buy this report?

- Get a detailed picture of the tobacco industry;

- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

- Understand the competitive environment, the market's major
players and leading brands;

- Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to
develop.

Executive summary

Number of smoking population increases

The smoking population in Malaysia continued to increase in 2007,
albeit at a slower rate because of the slightly decreasing number of
smokers. The increase in the smoking population was mainly due to the
young. Approximately 480,000 people, or 8% of an estimated six million
smokers in Malaysia were female. From a social standpoint, the
prevalence of young and young female smokers is expected to increase
because the high smoking prevalence makes smoking acceptable and
almost akin to a norm in Malaysia.

Illicit trade cigarettes constitutes an estimated 20% of total
retail volume

As the government imposed taxes and increased the prices of
cigarettes, the demand for counterfeit cigarettes in Malaysia also
increased. In 2006, illicit trade cigarettes comprised of one fifth of
the total retail volume. The government is currently undertaking
stricter measures against contraband cigarettes, and higher fines are
imposed on smokers that smoke illegal trade cigarettes in Malaysia.
Despite this, the consumption of contraband cigarettes is expected to
continue with the perceived weak enforcements of these measures by the
government.

Economy priced products face threat from cheaper cigarettes

An additional increasing trend was the easy access to purchasing
loose cigarettes and contraband at a lower price than economy
products. A pack of 20 cigarettes that retailed for RM7.40 (US$2.1,
EUR 1.8), could sell for as little as RM3.00 (US$0.86, EUR 0.71). This
was also due to the fact that in Malaysia a large proportion of
cigarettes are traditionally sold through street vendors and privately
owned restaurants at half the price as in large retailers. Cheaper
cigarettes that dominated in Malaysian were Saat, Promax and Fisher,
selling for as little as RM1.50. As a result, value for money
cigarettes, such as Pall Mall, faced a huge threat from emerging fake
and cheap cigarettes.

Demand for RYO increases in tandem with price hike of cigarettes

The government raises taxes annually on cigarettes to curb smoking
in line with a World Bank report stating that purchases could decrease
by approximately 8% if cigarette prices are increased by 10%. However,
with such increases in the retail price of cigarettes, consumers would
turn to cheaper alternatives such as RYO. Retail sales of RYO are
expected to increase, and hence boost sales of tobacco products over
the forecast period.

Small local manufacturers pose a great threat to top three
manufacturers

The top three kings of cigarettes manufacturers in Malaysia are
facing hard times, as there have been threats from small local
manufacturers of cigarettes. Small local cigarettes manufacturers tend
to cater to the needs of the local demographic in Malaysia and are
very competitive in price. Cheaper cigarettes are produced to cater
for the demand of smokers with lower income, as these constitute the
smoking population in Malaysia.

Contents:

Tobacco In Malaysia : Market Insight

Operating Environment

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Berhad - Tobacco - Malaysia

Jt International Trading Sdn Bhd - Tobacco - Malaysia

Philip Morris (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd - Tobacco - Malaysia

Syarikat Yuen Trading Sdn Bhd - Tobacco - Malaysia

Cigarettes In Malaysia

Cigarettes: Pack Splits

Cigars In Malaysia

Smoking Tobacco In Malaysia

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c90661