Yum Brands' China division eyes vast stores expansion after spinoff

Shanghai

YUM! Brands Inc, the US fast-food giant that's spinning off its China unit, plans to add more outlets with the likelihood of tripling its presence to about 22,000 stores in Asia's biggest economy.

Yum China already has 7,300 restaurants in the country - five per million people - and has the potential to triple that in the long term, it said in a statement on Tuesday. By year's end, it will have 7,500 locations comprising the KFC, Pizza Hut, Little Sheep and East Dawning chains, it said.

The long-term expansion will give Yum China, which is set to …