British American Tobacco to invest Sh12 billion in Mali state firm

British American Tobacco has signed a deal with Malian state tobacco company Sonatam to produce and distribute BAT's Dunhill International cigarettes for the West African market, Sonatam's chief told state radio on Saturday.

"With the production of Dunhill International in Mali, Sonatam's production will be brought to 3.2 billion cigarettes compared to 1.7 billion currently," Issouf Traore said.

BAT will invest 7 billion CFA francs ($11.90 million) by 2020 to upgrade the firm's production facilities. The upgrade will create 600 jobs, 200 of which are permanent, said Traore.