Yum! to invest $150mln in India to open 785 restaurants by 2015

Yum! Brands, Inc, the world's largest restaurant operator which runs food chains like KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, today said it will invest 150 million dollars over the next six years to open 785 restaurants across the Indian sub-continent along with the plans to generate a turnover of one billion dollars and hire 40,000 people by 2015.

At present, the company runs 215 restaurants, including about 150 Pizza Hut stores and 65 KFC outlets, and plans to take the number to 1,000.

''By 2015, we want to be a billion dollar company with 1,000 restaurants. For this purpose, we will be investing up to 150 million dollars over the next six years...We want to be the number one restaurant chain in India...it is our dream, our vision,'' Yum! Restaurant Managing Director (Indian Subcontinent) Niren Chaudhary told reporters here on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit.

The company also plans to expand its footprint to about 60 cities and raise staff levels from the present 10,000 to 50,000.

Mr Chaudhary said the investment will come from the company's internal accruals and the firm has no plans to launch initial public offer (IPO) in India.

The first Taco Bell restaurant will be opened up in Bangalore by this fiscal-end, Mr Chaudhary apprised.

The country's organised food and beverage retail sector is growing at about 25-30 per cent annually and the US-based firm sees ''massive opportunity'' for branded food in India. ''The eating-out market is 64 billion dollars, of which branded food is less than one per cent. So, there is a massive opportunity for all our brands,'' Mr Chaudhary added.

To suit the Indian incomes and tastes, the company has always come out with special menus and does not see the rise in commodity prices impacting the business.

''Commodity prices have increased, but it will not affect the business,'' he added.

-- (UNI) -- 10DC29.xml

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