Mainland China to expand to SE Asia

Kolkata, May 16 (IANS) Speciality Restaurants, a fine dining operator which owns popular outlets like Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta and Sigree, Wednesday said it is planning to expand its footprints internationally, starting from South-East Asia.

The Mumbai-based company, which has 80 restaurants across India and two in Bangladesh, is also looking at opening 45 eateries by 2014-15.

"We are not present abroad, except Bangladesh. But we should plan for the opportunity to grow internationally," Speciality Restaurant Ltd founder and managing director Anjan Chatterjee told reporters here.

"We are planning to start with South-East Asia. Because it is logistically easier to us," Chattejee said.

He, however, declined to divulge more on the overseas expansion.

He said of the 45 new restaurants the company would open, about 60 percent would be Mainland China.

"In the current fiscal, we are planning to open 16 eateries, and are looking to open another 16 and 13 in the next two financial years respectively," he informed.

He plans to spend $24 million on development of restaurants and will also invest $2.7 million on setting up of a food plaza at Rajarhat on Kolkata's outskirts.

The company, which also runs popular fine dining chains like Haka, Manchaan, Flame and Grill and Sweet Bengal, garners 61 percent of its revenue from Mainland China and 12 percent from Oh! Calcutta.

The company entered the country's capital markets Wednesday, with an initial public offering of 11,739,415 equity shares of face value of Rs.10 each for cash at premium.

It has planned to use the proceeds in its restaurant expansions, development of the food plaza and to repay loans.