BAT Warned South Africa for Years Over Illicit Tobacco: CEO

British American Tobacco Plc warned South Africa’s government for years that it would be forced to end production there if illegal cigarette sales weren’t stamped out, according to the chief executive officer.

Last month, the maker of Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes followed through on its threat and announced plans to shut its sole factory in South Africa by the year-end. Instead, BAT will rely on imports for South Africa, where the tobacco-maker can trace its roots back more than a century.