Guinea has created a National Tobacco Company, the SNT, tasked with implementing the state monopoly over the sector, by a decree made public on Monday, 19 October, on national television. Based in Conakry, the state-owned company has an initial capital of 100 billion Guinean francs, fully subscribed by the state.
Operators lawfully established when the text takes effect have six months to comply with the arrangements, including by registering with the ministry in charge of Commerce. The company may entrust cultivation, collection, processing or trading activities to approved private firms, by agreement, licence or subcontracting.
Its remit covers raw tobacco and finished products, from cultivation to imports and exports. The SNT must also organise purchases from producers and strengthen traceability as well as the fight against smuggling, in liaison with customs services.
Subscription of the capital is subject to a payment schedule. The decree provides for at least a quarter of the value of the shares to be paid up on subscription, with the balance called by the board of directors within three years of the company's registration.
The SNT will be overseen by a nine-member board and headed by a general management. It falls under the technical supervision of the ministry in charge of Commerce and the financial supervision of the ministry in charge of Finance.
This creation follows the closure of the former Entreprise nationale des tabacs et allumettes. According to Guinenews, the latter had ceased operations in the early 2000s, and its former site had been the subject of an agro-industrial conversion project in March 2025.