Tobacco control activists have cited health grounds in urging the government to reject USD 2 billion (EUR 1.8 billion) investment plans in the country by cigarette maker Philip Morris International (PMI), the Jakarta Globe reported.

Visiting the US this week, President Joko Widodo is expected to sign agreements with US government and American businesses. PMI, which holds a 98 per cent stake in Indonesia’s largest cigarette maker, H.M. Sampoerna, is among these businesses, the newspaper said.
Chairman of government-funded National Commission on Tobacco Control Kartono Mohamad told the newspaper that any investment from PMI would do more harm than good. “Once Philip Morris has planted its USD 2 billion here, it will certainly look for a profit, and so long [as] it still sees the benefits, we won’t be able to oust it from the country,” Mohamad was quoted as saying.
The newspaper said it had obtained a confidential letter from Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi to President Widodo which indicated the investment plans. According to the letter USD 500 million is marked for capital expenditure for H.M Sampoerna. The remaining USD 1.5 billion will reportedly be raised through a share divestment with proceeds going to the country’s Investment Coordinating Board and Health Ministry, the newspaper said.