BARBECUE PLAZA ADDING INDONESIA TO ITS PLATE

Singapore and Vietnam are also on the radar,
according to Ms Chataya.

Barbecue Plaza Co is moving further into international markets, with plans to open its first restaurant in Indonesia by the end of this year.

Assistant managing director Chataya Choopojcharoen said the company is in talks with Indonesian partners to set up a joint venture.

The move is part of the company's vision to expand its Japanese-Mongolian style of barbecue throughout Southeast Asia.

"Indonesia will be the second country we will expand into after Malaysia, because of the big population size, as well as geographic similarity to Thailand," Ms Chataya said.

MATAHARI SAYS LOTTE IS AMONG 4 RETAILERS INTERESTED IN BUYING CONTROL

Photo Source: mediaindonesia.com

PT Matahari Putra Prima, Indonesia’s biggest retailer by market value, said four companies, including South Korea’sLotte Shopping Co., are interested in acquiring a controlling stake. Matahari shares rose as much as 10 percent.

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit is facilitating discussions with four retailers that may “explore the modes of investment” that may include a stake sale, Matahari said in an e-mailed statement. Its stock jumped 7 percent to 1,690 rupiah at the 11:30 a.m. trading break in Jakarta, headed for the highest close since it was listed December 1992.

A purchase would give the buyer control over the biggest rival to Carrefour SA in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, which is forecast to expand at least 6 percent this year. Matahari’s hypermarket business has annual sales of about $1 billion that will probably grow 22 percent this year, the statement said.

“More people tend to shop in convenient stores and the majority of Indonesia’s population are in their productive age, which is what attracts retailers,” said Betrand Raynaldi, an analyst at PT eTrading Securities in Jakarta. Matahari’s hypermarkets "own a large market share in Indonesia and their stores are strategically located," he said.