Yum Brands Sees 130 New Africa Stores This Year: Report

U.S. fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc. plans to open 130 new KFC stores in Africa this year, bringing its presence on the continent to 1,000 restaurants, the Business Day newspaper in South Africa said on Friday, citing a senior executive.

Yum, the parent of the KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut chains, also plans to bring KFC into seven new African countries this year, general manager for Africa Keith Warren told the paper.

New markets include Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Madagascar, the newspaper said.

Yum also plans to bring Pizza Hut restaurants to South Africa this year, Business Day said.

Based in Louisville, Ky., Yum is no stranger to emerging markets. The company has more than 3,700 restaurants, mostly KFC outlets, in China, where it is the No.1 Western restaurant brand.

The company has said it expects at least 10 percent profit growth in 2012, led by its China business.

Western retailers are increasingly targeting Africa, which is home to rising consumer spending and some of the world's fastest-growing economies, albeit off low bases.

(Reporting by David Dolan)