Japan Tobacco (JT) said Tuesday it would pay nearly $1 billion to buy Mighty Corp., the Philippines' number two cigarette firm, marking its second acquisition in Southeast Asia this month. One of the world's biggest tobacco companies, whose global brands include Winston and Camel, JT has set its sights on international markets to counter slowing sales at home and intensifying competition in the e-cigarette market.

JT on Tuesday said it would pay 46.8 billion pesos ($936 million) for Mighty, which has a 23 percent share of the Philippine market. It comes several weeks after announcing it was buying Indonesian cigarette maker PT Karyadibya Mahardhika and its distributor for $677 million.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017