Ovannis Capital: McDonalds are to increase by a quarter its China Investment.
Ovannis Capital analysts in Beijing report that McDonalds Corp. (MCD.N) the worlds biggest Hamburger Chain are aiming to increase their capital investment in China by about 25 percent this year. McDonalds hope to tap into the growth of the worlds third largest economy.
“We expect to increase our capital investment by 25 percent over last year,” said Kenneth Chan, McDonalds China CEO, told analysts for Ovannis Capital during the launch of a new marketing campaign on Friday. “We continue to be extremely bullish about our business in China and will continue to invest in opening new restaurants,” Chan said. However he declined to disclose the investment amount for 2009 or 2010.
One of McDonald’s main competitors in China is Yum Brand’s (YUM.N) who own KFC in both the US and Chinese markets, there is also Chinese Ajisen who own a chain of noodle restaurants. Mr Chan told Ovannis Capital that McDonald’s are planning to open 150 to 175 new restaurants in China. This will lead to the creation of 10,000 new jobs, he added.
Mr Chan went on to tell Ovannis Capital that McDonalds are planning to launch a new brand concept for China called ‘Make Room For Happiness.’ The concept is to mark the 20th annivesary of McDonalds opening their first resturant in Shenzhen.
McDonald’s currently have 1,135 restaurants in mainland China, as of the end of 2009 and last week McDonald’s posted a profit for the fourth-quarter of 2009 of $1.22 billion. This was up from $985.3 million a year earlier.
Analysts for Ovannis Capital said McDonalds was helped by it’s strength in Europe and a small rise in December sales in the U.S. after two months of declines in the United States, where high unemployment affected results.
