McDonald's to link up with HPCL

McDonald’s restaurant will set up eateries at Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd.s (HPCL) fuel stations in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore in India. The food outlets will be set up at 15 HPCL pumps at Chembur in Mumbai, IT hub Hinjewadi near Pune and popular Ring Road in Bangalore said Amit Jatia, managing director of Hardcastle Restaurants and representative of McDonald’s in western and southern India. McDonald’s has earmarked an investment of Rs500 million (US$10.77 million) for knowledge_base venture in which the state-run oil firm will be a “strategic partner”. McDonald’s, the world’s leading fast-food restaurant, is rapidly gaining popularity in urban India. The normal cost of establishing one McDonald’s is around Rs50 million (US$1.08 million). (July 31, 2006)