A Chinese woman walks by a Kentucky Fried Chicken poster
© AFP/File

SHANGHAI (AFP) - KFC, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc of the United States, said its franchise fees would fall to as low as two million yuan (250,000 dollars) compared to a previous minimum of eight million yuan, the Shanghai Daily said.

The largest fast-food chain in China wants to open franchise businesses in all Chinese cities, the newspaper reported.

However major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Wuxi, where the company runs restaurants with local partners, are excluded, as is Zhejiang province in eastern China where franchise business is not allowed, the newspaper said.

Dominick Morizio, KFC franchise development director, told the newspaper that the company was acting on increased interest from investors after location limits and capital requirements had dampened expansion.

KFC, which entered China in 1987, runs only 37 franchised restaurants out of its 1,700 restaurants in the country, well below its five percent ceiling.

Yum!, which also operates Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, will open 375 new establishments this year in China, the newspaper said.

The company was not immediately available to comment.

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