Fosun invests $35m in Malaysian restaurant chain

This is Fosun's first overseas investment in the dining industry. It will invest through its wholly-owned vehicle, Good Champion Holding, according to a statement.

Founded in 1997, Secret Recipe is one of Southeast Asian's largest casual dinning chains, providing cakes, Western-style food and Southeast Asian cuisine. It has more than 300 outlets in major cities in Asia, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, and Brunei.

China will be Secret Recipe's main expansion focus in the future. It entered Chinese market in 2007 and has expanded to more than 50 restaurants in major cities including Shanghai, Nanjing and Xuxi. The company expects to have more than 100 restaurants in China by 2015, with the revenues from the mainland Chinese market rising to 50% of global sales, up from less than 10%.

Guo Guangchang, Fosun Group's chairman, said he is optimistic about casual dining in China. The industry grew to RMB2.3 billion in revenue in 2012 from RMB604 million in 2004, with average annual growth of 18.5%. The growth rate between 2012-2016 is expected to exceed 27.9%.

Fosun primarily interests in acquiring overseas businesses with a significant China angle and developing them domestically.

Last month, Fosun acquired an 80% stake in Caixa Seguros e Saúde (CSS), the insurance unit of Portugese state bank Caixa Geral de Depositos SA for EUR1 billion ($1.36 billion). In September it agreed to buy a 35% stake in Italian menswear brand Caruso.

It also acquired a stake in French-based vacation resorts operator Club Méditerranée (Club Med) through a joint venture with Ardian, formerly Axa Private Equity.

Other investments include Danish electronics manufacturer Bang & Olufsen and Greek jeweler Folli Follie Group.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Southeast Asia
• China
• Fosun Group
• Outbound investment
• Malaysia
• Consumer
• Southeast Asia