McDonald's to open 175 restaurants in china

McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, plans to add 175 restaurants in China next year after opening its 1,000th outlet in the country today.

The latest restaurant was opened in Dongguan in Guangdong province, the Oak Brook-based company said in an e- mailed statement. The 2009 plan will create 10,000 restaurant jobs and 1,200 manager positions, it said.

McDonald's joins other foreign consumer companies such as Pepsico Inc., Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in focusing on emerging markets such as China, which saw retail sales rise 22 percent in October, close to the fastest pace in nine years.

"In difficult times, consumers still want to go out to eat but might go to cheaper places, such as McDonald's," Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, said over the phone from Shanghai.

"McDonald's have the right price points and they have good quality control," he said, adding he doesn't see a marked slowdown in consumer spending in China even though economic growth weakened to 9 percent in the third quarter, the slowest pace in five years.