百勝中國業務將分拆上市 Yum to spin off and list China unit

Yum Brands is to spin off and list its Chinese operations in the biggest shake-up the company behind Kentucky Fried Chicken has seen in almost 20 years, a move that comes just days after it appointed activist investor Keith Meisterto its board.

百勝品牌(Yum Brands)將剝離並上市中國業務，這是該公司近20年來最大的規模重組，幾天前，百勝剛剛任命維權投資者基思·邁斯特(Keith Meister)加入公司董事會。百勝是肯德基(KFC)的母公司。

Newly formed company Yum China will become the sole franchisee for Yum Brands in the world’s second-largest economy, with exclusive rights to KFC and its other two fast-food chains Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, with the latter yet to enter the country. Yum shares rose 3.8 per cent to $74.41 in midday trading.

新成立的公司——百勝中國(Yum China)將成為百勝在全球第二大經濟體的唯一特許加盟商，將擁有肯德基以及其他兩個快餐連鎖必勝客(Pizza Hut)和塔可鍾(Taco Bell)的獨家特許經營權，塔可鍾尚未進入中國。百勝股價昨日午盤上漲3.8%，至74.41美元。

Investors had been expecting radical change at Yum, whose Chinese business accounts for about half of group operating profit. Mr Meister’s fund had built up a near-5 per cent stake in the company and earlier this year called for it to split off its Chinese business.

投資者此前就預計百勝將出臺重大變革，該集團的中國業務約佔集團營運利潤的一半。邁斯特的基金累積了百勝近5%的股權，今年早些時候他曾呼籲該集團剝離中國業務。

It has been a tough year for Yum in China. While its KFC brand was beginning to show signs of recovery after food scandals last year, it was not at the pace that the company had been anticipating, dragged down in part by the country’s economic slowdown.

百勝中國業務經歷了艱難的一年。儘管肯德基品牌在去年的食品醜聞後開始顯現復甦跡象，但速度並不像該公司期待的那麼快，在一定程度上受到中國經濟放緩的拖累。

“I am tempted to say that KFC’s best days in China are probably behind them. They are dealing with a lot of tough trends,” said James Roy, analyst at China Market Research in Shanghai. These challenges include rising labour costs and rents, labour shortages, changing consumer tastes and increasing competition.

上海中國市場研究集團(China Market Research)分析師詹姆斯圠伊(James Roy)表示：“我傾向於認為肯德基在中國的最好時光可能已經過去。他們正應對很多嚴峻趨勢。” 這些挑戰包括勞動力成本以及租金不斷上漲、勞動力短缺、消費者品味改變以及競爭加劇。

Yum, however, believes that growth in the middle class has a long way to run and that its restaurants in the country could increase in number to 20,000, from 7,000 now.

然而，百勝認為，中產階層的壯大還有很長的路要走，其在華餐廳數量可能會從現在的7000家增至2萬家。