Business
KFC to introduce US fast food in Hanoi http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusinessnew.asp?template=&whichstory=n&id=31316
Saturday, May 20, 2006 (Hanoi):
KFC is set to become the first US fast food chain to open an outlet in Vietnam's communist capital next month, a company official said on Friday.
The restaurant is scheduled to open by the end of June and other outlets may follow by the end of the end, said Le Van Dut, Marketing Manager, KFC Vietnam.
"Despite the differences in the eating habits of people in Hanoi, we are confident about our prospects there," he said.
KFC entered Vietnam's southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City in 1997 and now operates 21 restaurants there, Dut said.
Hanoi, a city of about 3.5 million people, has domestically owned chain restaurants and coffee shops.
The announcement comes as Vietnam continues to battle the H5N1 bird flu virus, though Dut said the problem is not expected to affect KFC's business. (AP)