GS Holdings to expand chicken rice brand in Qatar

CATALIST-LISTED GS Holdings 43A : 43A 0% announced on Thursday that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Hao Kou Wei Food Group, has signed a franchise agreement to expand its Rasa Chicken by Sing Swee Kee brand of halal chicken rice to Qatar.

The franchise agreement was signed with Singapore food and beverage (F&B) entrepreneurs Tan Yan Shan and Lim Yee Min, both of whom have had experience managing and operating F&B brands and concepts in Qatar.

As part of the agreement, Mr Tan and Mr Lim will develop and operate chicken rice outlets under the brand name "Sing Swee Kee" in Qatar.

Chief executive officer and executive director of GS Holdings Pang Pok said that the Rasa Chicken by Sing Swee Kee franchise has been well-received by consumers in Brunei and the company believes that there are strong opportunities for the franchise to expand in Qatar too.

The Rasa Chicken by Sing Swee Kee franchise was launched in Brunei in Nov 2019 to serve halal chicken rice to Muslim consumers worldwide. The Sing Swee Kee brand itself has been around for more than 20 years.

"Furthermore, our latest franchise in Qatar can potentially provide a springboard for us to expand our brand and business outreach in the Middle East where there are more than 280 million Muslim consumers," he said.

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GS Holdings said it does not expect the agreement to have any material impact on the consolidated earnings per share and consolidated net tangible assets per share of the group for the current year ending Dec 31, 2021.

Shares of GS Holdings closed flat at S$0.295 on Thursday before the announcement was made.