Egyptian cigarette monopoly Eastern Company opened its factory in Jordan on Tuesday, in a joint 10 million dinar investment with Jordan's Al Taj company, the state news agency MENA said. "The factory's output will target the Jordanian market in addition to neighboring markets including Egypt's," MENA quoted Eastern's chairman Nabil Abdel Aziz as saying. Eastern, whose trademark brands include Cleopatra cigarettes and tobacco, also makes higher-margin foreign brands for multinationals such as British American Tobacco and Philip Morris. Eastern will supply Jordan's Al Taj with raw materials and technical support, MENA said. "This is a positive step for Eastern Tobacco, as the company is opening new markets for exports through this agreement, which should open the door for further partnerships and distributions outside of Egypt," Beltone Financial said in a note on Wednesday. Eastern posted unaudited nine-month net profit for the period ended March 2010 of LE 626 million.
