Yum Brands in talks to sell stake in China ops

HONG KONG • Yum Brands, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is in talks with private equity firms, including KKR and Hopu Investments, to sell a minority stake in its China operations.

It plans to spin off its 6,900 restaurants in China, which account for about half of the company's total sales, by the end of this year.

This comes after a difficult few years for Yum Brands in China, where a series of food-safety scandals and management missteps has dented its reputation.

BLOOMBERG

Taiwan cuts policy rate for 3rd straight meeting

TAIPEI • Taiwan's central bank cut its policy rate for the third straight meeting yesterday to prop up a faltering economy, but said it expects growth to pick up quarter by quarter.

It trimmed the discount rate by 12.5 basis points to 1.50 per cent, following up on cuts it made at meetings in December and September last year.

A rate cut has been expected after the government trimmed its economic growth outlook this year to 1.47 per cent, mainly as growth in China is slowing and domestic consumption is not firing.

REUTERS