Bullish McDonald's, Starbucks stick to store-opening plans

Restaurant chains remain bullish on China's retail market, with global business operators such as McDonald's and Starbucks staying on track with plans to open new stores.

Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said during McDonald's third-quarter earnings conference that the fastfood giant plans to open a record 800 restaurants in China this year despite soft same-store performance.

"The (China) market continued to grow share, leaning into the strength of our delivery and digital business," he noted.

"Our outlook on China remains very bullish and we're going to continue to build restaurants at an aggressive pace."

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski noted that the confidence it has in the longer-term opportunity in China remains in place.

Meanwhile, Starbucks in September celebrated the opening of its 6,000th store on the Chinese mainland in Shanghai.

The leading coffee chain is looking to double its domestic revenue while adding 50 percent more stores over the next three years to reach 9,000 outlets on the mainland.