McDonald’s Agrees China Franchise Sale.doc

McDonald’s Agrees China Franchise Sale 　　 McDonalds Agrees China Franchise Sale McDonald’s has agreed to sell 80% of its business in China and Hong Kong， as part of plans to franchise more of its restaurants worldwide. Chinas stateowned investment group Citic， and US private equity firm Carlyle Group， will take control of the operations in a deal valued at $2.1bn （￡1.7bn）. McDonalds owns and operates about 65% of its 2，000 China outlets. Franchising allows it to take a slice of sales while cutting operating costs. McDonalds is trying to streamline its global operations， and changing its ownership structure to revolve more around franchises is a major part of that revamp. In March last year， the firm said it was seeking partners to help it add more than 1，500 restaurants in China， Hong Kong and Korea over the next five years. Under the agreement， the US fast food giant will keep a 20% stake in its China business. Citic will hold a 52% share in the partnership while Caryle takes 28% of the new business. Competitor Yum Brands， the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut， is also restructuring its China business. Both McDonalds and Yum Brands have been facing increasing competition from cheaper local rivals， particularly in China， where they are trying to recover from food safety scares. Beijing Police Force to Combat Toxic Smog A new team of environmental police will try to reduce hazardous levels of toxic smog engulfing Beijing， the citys acting mayor has said. The police will look for local sources of air pollution including open-air barbecues and dusty roads. The mayor has also promised to reduce coal consumption by 30% this year. Many residents have been forced to stay in their homes for days at a time to avoid breathing the poisonous air. The public has been calling on the government to do more to address major sources of smog， including reducing China’s reliance on coal-fired power plants， the primary source of electricity in the country. Officials say unfavourabl