SINGAPORE – Coffee lovers here will soon be able to enjoy a cuppa from popular Canadian chain Tim Hortons when it opens its first outlet in Singapore towards the end of the year.

On Tuesday, Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corporation announced an agreement with Tim Hortons’ parent company, Restaurant Brands International, to bring the brand to the Republic through its Singapore-based subsidiary, Marubeni Growth Capital Asia.

Nikkei Asia reported that outlets will start popping up from the next fiscal year – which begins in April – with plans to expand to hundreds of locations across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in the next decade.

A spokesman for Marubeni Corporation said the company expects to launch the first outlet in Singapore in the later part of the year.

Often cited as Canada’s favourite coffee spot, Tim Hortons sells a variety of food products, although it is best known for its coffee and doughnuts.

It currently has more than 5,600 outlets in 14 countries, with Singapore being its third foray into the South-east Asian market.

In 2017, it opened its first outlet in the Philippines. It now has 46 locations in the country.

Then in 2020, it opened its first outlet in Thailand, eventually expanding to its current 12 outlets there.

Menus will be curated to suit local taste buds, with the coffee chain also slated to open outlets in Malaysia within the next fiscal year. It also aims to open its first outlet in Indonesia in the fiscal year after that.

When asked if Tim Hortons will be halal-certified, the Marubeni Corporation spokesman said that the development of local menus is still in the works and that more details would be shared later in the year.