Jumbo Group China to open Beijing restaurant

Singapore-owned seafood restaurant Jumbo Group China has signed a JV agreement to open its first outlet in Beijing.

The agreement is between the Singapore group’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Jumbo F&B Services (Shanghai) and Beijing Hualian (SKP) Departmental Store, a member of the Beijing Hualian Group. JFB Shanghai will hold a 51 per cent stake in the JV, while Beijing Hualian holds the 49 per cent balance.

The JV will have a registered capital of RMB10 million (US$1.4 million).

Slated to open by the third quarter of this year, the Beijing restaurant joins the group’s three outlets in Shanghai.
Jumbo CEO/executive director Ang Kiam Meng says the JV agreement comes shortly after the group inked a franchise agreement in Vietnam. “We are heartened our overseas expansion plans are shaping up well.”

For the Chinese capital, the Jumbo Seafood restaurant will be in the upmarket Beijing SKP mall.

“The restaurant’s privileged location enables us to reach out to the more affluent segment of the market, which is cosmopolitan in outlook and more adventurous in their culinary pursuits,” says Ang.

In December, Jumbo signed a franchise agreement with Nova Bac Nam 79 joint-stock company to grant rights to run Jumbo Seafood restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, Vietnam. There are plans to open three Jumbo Seafood outlets in the two cities over the next two years.

Jumbo Group has a central kitchen in Singapore to maintain quality standards and consistency as well as increase productivity and lower costs. It also has a research and development kitchen where it creates new dishes and improves food-preparation processes.