KUALA LUMPUR (June 4): The Ministry of Health (MOH) has clarified that US-based Ispire Technology Inc, which has been granted an interim manufacturing licence to produce electronic cigarette devices with gel or liquid containing nicotine, is not authorised to sell its products in the local market.
This is because the manufacturing licence, granted by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti), is strictly for export.
"Ispire Technology Inc received an interim licence from Miti (through the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida)) solely for export purposes. The MOH has never approved any registration for the product for the local market," the MOH told The Edge in a brief statement, in response to queries about Ispire's intended market and MOH's role in the licence it received.
The MOH further said that any party intending to import, produce, or distribute smoking products locally must apply for product registration with the ministry, which regulates such products, including e-liquids, under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 [Act 852].
The clarification came after the ministry issued a statement on Monday to confirm that a foreign company had been granted an interim manufacturing licence to produce electronic cigarette devices containing nicotine in gel or liquid form, following media reports in late May that the Nasdaq-listed Ispire had been granted the licence — Malaysia's first and only nicotine manufacturing licence.
The MOH said the licence was issued by the Miti through Mida, based on the Industrial Coordination Act 1975, and that local authorities were also involved via the Enforcement of Local Licensing By-Laws.
Ispire is involved in the research and development, design, sales, commercialisation, marketing, and distribution of vaping products and its own branded e-cigarettes. The interim licence granted to Ispire allows it to commence production of its products in Johor, which has banned vape sales since 2016.
The company first disclosed the licence approval in a May 22 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, though few details were provided at the time.
Ispire has, since February 2024, started production at its 31,000 sq ft factory in Senai, Johor, with up to seven production lines, according to an investor presentation in March this year.
Phase two of the plant’s expansion is scheduled to begin in late 2025, which will increase the facility’s size to 86,000 sq ft, with a manufacturing capacity of up to 61 million devices or 107 million pods per month. Ispire co-chief executive officer Michael Wang had been reported as saying that the facility would eventually scale up to 80 production lines.
Aside from Johor, the states of Terengganu, Perlis, and Kedah have also banned vaping or halted the issuance of vape-related licences.
source：https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/757738
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