Starbucks plans to triple its China coffee shops

Starbucks Corp. is planning to triple the number of its coffee shops in China during the next four years.

Starbucks Asia Pacific President Jinlong Wang told reporters Tuesday in Singapore that the world's largest coffee retailer plans to operate 1,500 outlets in China by 2015 from a current 470.

Wang said the company also expects to open 700 coffee shops in South Korea by 2016, up from 370 now.

He said Starbucks is preparing to open its first outlets in India next year and in Vietnam in 2013.

Starbucks said in July that revenue from its international business rose 20 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier and accounted for 23 percent of overall sales of $2.93 billion.

From: The Associated Press