Din Tai Fung to close 14 restaurants in China

Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) Taiwan-based restaurant chain Din Tai Fung, best known for its xiaolongbao (steamed dumplings), announced Monday plans to close 14 of its stores in China by the end of October.

In a statement, Beijing Hengtaifeng Catering Co., which operates several of Ding Tai Fung's restaurants in China, said its 20-year business license is set to expire.

As board members have failed to reach an agreement on its renewal, the 14 restaurants will exit the Chinese market by Oct. 31, the company said.

They include the Beijing Yu Yang branch, the Beijing SKP branch, the Beijing Xidan branch, the Beijing Parkview Green branch, the Beijing APM branch, the Beijing China World branch, the Cuiwei Wanaimeishijie branch (Beijing), the Golden Resources branch (Beijing), the Tianjin Hang Lung branch, Vientiane City branch (Tianjin), the Qingdao Rio Carnival branch, the Qingdao Hisense branch, Xi'an Namen branch, and the Paragon branch (Xiamen).

The company apologized for any inconvenience and disappointment this could cause customers, adding that it will provide compensation to its workers and work actively with partners to handle all follow-up matters.

"We remain optimistic about the Chinese market and will continue to observe developments and trends in the restaurant industry," it said.

Beijing Hengtaifeng Catering, established in 2004 by Din Tai Fung in partnership with DaChan Great Wall Group, currently operates the Din Tai Fung restaurants in northern China and Xiamen. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese restaurant giant works with a different partner to run its other restaurants in eastern China.

According to Din Tai Fung's website, it currently has a total of 37 stores in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Xi'an, Wuxi, Xiamen, Hong Kong and Macau.