Deal Will Expand Chinese Outlets By a Third

Article Excerpt

MCDONALD’S CORP. $32 (New York symbol MCD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) currently has 760 outlets in China, and aims to expand to 1,000 by 2008. It recently formed an alliance with Sinopec, China’s largest gas station operator, that will let it build drive-through restaurants at Sinopec’s gas stations. Finding suitable land for new restaurants is difficult in China, so this deal gives McDonald’s an easy way to expand, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas. More people in China can now afford cars, and they see fast food as an affordable luxury. McDonald’s is a buy. buy…