Philippine Tobacco Flue-Curing and Redrying Corporation (TFC) was incorporated on March 28, 1951 and has been in operation for fifty years. In 1994, TFC consolidated its tobacco operations in Candon, Ilocos Sur. The threshing and re-drying facilities in Balintawak, Quezon City were transferred to Candon where the company buys, sorts and temporarily stores raw tobacco. This move was intended to reduce handling costs and to maximize the use of the Balintawak property. TFC's tobacco operations had been incurring losses primarily due to declining export and domestic prices, both in terms of volume and price. Since there were no prospects of a turnaround in the near future, the Board of TFC decided to phase out the tobacco business in April 2002. The tobacco facilities were made available to third parties on short-term lease or tolling arrangements. Source: SEC Form 17-A (2008)