Mubasher: China National Tobacco, state-owned monopoly and the world’s largest cigarette maker, plans to list its international subsidiary, China Tobacco International, on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The listing would raise nearly $100 million for the unit which makes up a tiny portion of its parent company’s overall business, and mainly purchases leaf products from countries such as Brazil and the US and sell them to Chinese manufacturers.

The tobacco giant said it looks to use proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) to buy tobacco product operating entities, cigarette brands or tobacco product brands.

The listing marks a rare move by the state-run company as it faces mounting domestic concerns over China’s high rates of cancer and smoking-related diseases.

China is the largest tobacco-consuming and manufacturing country in the world.

Last year, lawmakers in China’s National People’s Congress called for higher taxes on cigarettes in order to deter smoking among youth.

The unit to be listed posted revenue of 5.1 billion Hong Kong dollar (HKD) ($651 million) for the nine months ended September, a year-on-year drop of 21%.

The international business also had a gross profit margin of 5.8%, down from 6.5% a year earlier.