Saturday,January 22,2005
McDonalds plans expansion in China
AGENCIES
HONG KONG: US fast food giant McDonalds said on Friday that it’s planning further expansion in China, the fastest-growing market outside the US.
The group has already committed to have 1,000 stores throughout China by the time of the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. In December, the chain said it will move its China headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai - a move will help expand its fast-growing business on the mainland.
"China is the fastest-growing market outside the US China has about 1.3 billion people. Our intention is to grow indefinitely," said Marvin Whaley, the company's president for North Asia and South Pacific region, in a media briefing in Hong Kong.
"China had a very good year in 2004, comparable to the rest of the world," he said, while declining to disclose any sales figures. McDonald's opened its first restaurant on the mainland in 1990 and now has about 640 outlets in China.
Copyright © 2005 Times Internet Limited.