President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), the nation’s largest convenience store operator, plans to open its first 7-Eleven store in Shanghai before the end of the year after it won the right to expand there.
President Chain has been authorized by Seven Eleven China (SEC, 柒一拾壹商業) to operate 7-Eleven stores in Shanghai and signed a memorandum of understanding with SEC, the Taiwanese firm said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Lillian Lin (林立莉), public relations manager at President Chain Store, declined to reveal details of the deal, such as royalty payments, expansion schedule and capital expenditure. But the Shanghai investment will be 100 percent-owned by President Chain, Lin said in a telephone interview.
Shares of President Chain soared limit-up to close at NT$115.5 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
A Citigroup analyst, however, had doubts the stock would continue to rise.
“The deal was long awaited and should help PCSC’s operation in China in the long-run. However, considering the late entry and the competitive nature of the convenience store market in Shanghai, we doubt this new investment can break even in three years, if not longer, so we see little earnings upside for PCSC and Uni-President Enterprise Co (統一企業),” Andre Chang (張致竑), an analyst at Citigroup Investment Research in Taipei, wrote in a client note yesterday.
President Chain has a total of 4,790 7-Eleven convenience stores in Taiwan. It already has eight brands in China, with a total of 281 outlets.
Lin said the company was confident about its Shanghai plans as it has nearly 10 years of logistical experience in China because it opened its first Starbucks Coffee Co shop in Shanghai in 2000.
“People in Shanghai have a relatively high level of acceptance in terms of new products and services, as long as they meet local needs,” Lin said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KEVIN CHEN
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS