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Pizza Hut, a restaurant chain owned by Yum! Brands, announced it will open at least 150 more restaurants in China this year as its parent company moves forward with plans to expand overseas. "Pizza Hut will accelerate its development speed in China," said Peter Kao, brand general manager of Pizza Hut and Pizza Hut Delivery of Yum! China. "We plan to invest more than 700 million yuan ($111.2 million) and open at least 150 restaurants in third- or fourth-tier cities this year." Yum! Brands Inc, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has more than 36,000 restaurants in more than 117 countries and regions, according to its official website. In 1987, Yum! entered China by opening its first KFC store. The catering giant now has more than 4,400 restaurants in the country - KFCs, Pizza Huts, Taco Bells, East Dawnings and Little Sheep. On Tuesday, Yum! Brands reported that its fourth-quarter profit had increased by 30 percent from the same period a year ago, a result it attributed to its global expansion and the sales increase it has seen at its China stores. The company's net income increased to $356 million, or 75 cents a share, from $274 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier, Yum! said in the statement. Yum!, which has about 18,800 restaurants outside the United States, said its fourth-quarter sales at stores that have been open at least 12 months increased by 21 percent in China. The company said it opened 656 stores in the country last year, a record number. | 
