In 2016, the year Stoel took the helm at BAT Malaysia, the legal cigarette market was reeling from a hike in excise tax, and contracted 25.7% year on year. Nevertheless, says Stoel, for BAT Malaysia to return to a position of growth, the fight against illicit cigarettes has to intensify. As BAT Malaysia is not a law enforcement agency, how will Stoel help the group grow? However, BAT Malaysia is not just watching while the government is doing all the heavy lifting. Market watchers were puzzled by the government’s move because it had approved the sale of a similar product by a BAT Malaysia competitor.

Source: The Edge Markets May 20, 2019 06:11 UTC