Dec. 29, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Pizza Hut Inc, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc, the world's largest restaurant company, on Dec. 28 opened its 500th China-located chain store in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, sources reported.

The new outlet is also the city's first Pizza Hut store, said Zhu Zongyi, president of Yum! Brands China. He added that the firm intends to spend a total of RMB 30 million on market expansion in Lanzhou in the next two years.

Gao Yao, brand manager of Pizza Hut, said the firm, which had 44 outlets in western China as of Nov. 30, 2010, will open more outlets in the second- and third-tier cities in the same region.

Sources reported that Yum! Brands, which own more than 37,000 chain stores in over 110 countries and regions worldwide, last year reaped RMB 28.8 billion in operating revenue in China, the fastest-growing market of the group.