KFC, Pizza Hut grow in China

The US company that owns KFC and Pizza Hut boasted growth of 11% in China in the third quarter of 2009, Bloomberg reported. Yum! Brands, based in the US state of Kentucky, opened 267 new restaurants worldwide between June and September, 88 of which were in mainland China. The company’s growth in China offset its performance in the US, where it experienced a 5% decline. Yum! CEO David Novak attributed the company’s 15% worldwide profit growth to China and Thailand. Yum! opened 500 restaurants in the region in 2008, with profits totalling US$469 million.