McDonald's closes 30 outlets

JAKARTA (JP): McDonald's Indonesia closed 30 of its 101 outlets nationwide in 1998 due to the economic crisis and widespread rioting.

Company president Bambang H. Rachmadi said over the weekend the crisis had resulted in the declining purchasing power of local consumers, and the rupiah's sharp depreciation had tripled prices of its imported raw materials.

Six of its outlets were destroyed in massive riots which hit the country in May.

"We have had to temporarily close those outlets otherwise we will suffer a greater losses. We will reopen them if the economic condition recovers," Bambang said at a launching for the company's newest burger product called McSatay.

He said that in 1999, instead of closing existing outlets, his company planned to open 10 new outlets, five of which would be located in Bali.

"We have pledged not to close any of our outlets this year. This year, we will open 10 new outlets in several locations which have good prospect in sales, such as Bali. We currently operate six outlets in Bali and all of them recorded good growth in profits in the past years. So five of our new outlets will be opened in Bali, " he said. (gis)