Msnbc:

Bar-B-Cutie Franchise Systems is in advanced talks to take its Southern fare to the Middle Kingdom.

Greg George, the Brentwood company’s director of franchise development, says he expects to sign a franchise deal in the next month. He expects the agreement to call for between 50 and 100 Chinese stores over the next 10 years. “They love American food and products,” says George of the Chinese, whose booming economy is spurring the rapid growth of a middle class craving Western goods of all kinds.

That has made China an attractive market for American restaurant companies. Last September, Louisville-based pizza chain Papa John’s International Inc. opened its 15th location in China and plans to open another 250 in the next five years.

Several years ago, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, which is owned by Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: AFCEE) signed a deal to open 54 restaurants in China and opened the first of those locations in 2003.

Restaurant franchise heavyweight Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM), which operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, operates a China division with more than 2,300 restaurants that churn out annual operating profits of more than $200 million. The company has identified China as its chief market for new restaurant development worldwide.

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