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.

TESCO SILENT ON VIETNAM ENTRY TALK

Picture Source: http://www.cartridgeworld.com.vn 

UK retail giant Tesco has stayed silent on a report that it is looking to enter Vietnam.

According to a report in The Independent today (12 January), Tesco is understood to be weighing up an entry into the Vietnamese market. A move would make the south-east Asian country Tesco's 15th overseas market.

At an investor summit focusing on Tesco's operations in Asia in November, the retailer cited the continent as having a "large and growing population and increasingly prosperous consumers". Tesco pointed to Asia as being "a powerful driver of long-term growth and returns" for the company.

Vietnam has a current population of around 87m, Tesco's presentation noted, and a "modern grocery distribution" market worth GBP4bn at present.

However, when contacted by just-food today, Tesco declined to comment on "rumour or speculation".

According to Euromonitor's Retailing in Vietnam report, retailing is considered one of the most attractive industries in the country.

Among the major players in the Vietnamese retail industry, Saigon Coop, Hapro Mart and G7 are the three most active, with "high ambitions to strongly resist the competition posed by international players", the report noted.

The sector, however, remains small. Retail sales in Vietnam are forecast to increase from VND373.73bn (US$19.2m) in 2009 to VND469.66bn by 2014.