KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd is suspending over 100 KFC outlets temporarily nationwide after about half a year of boycott movement, Nanyang Siang Pau reported, citing information from Google Maps.
By the evening of April 27, there were already 108 outlets that had paused operations, the Chinese daily reported. There are over 600 KFC restaurants in Malaysia, according to its website.
QSR did not immediately respond to The Edge's request for comment.
KFC, along with a few other global brands such as Starbucks and McDonald’s, have been facing intense boycotts due to their purported support or perceived link to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
QSR, which owns and runs the KFC franchise in Malaysia, also operates the restaurants in Singapore, Brunei, and Cambodia, as well as more than 480 Pizza Hut outlets in Malaysia and Singapore.
Kelantan is the hardest hit with nearly 80% or up to 21 outlets stopping their operations temporarily, followed by 15 outlets in Johor, Nanyang Siang Pau said.
Johor state investment arm Johor Corporation (JCorp) is the largest shareholder in QSR, which together with its unit KFC Holdings (M) Bhd were taken private in February 2013.
JCorp partnered with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd to privatise the entities in a RM5.2 billion deal. EPF and CVC formed Melati Asia Holdings Ltd with a 51% and 49% stake respectively.
JCorp’s unit Massive Equity Sdn Bhd holds a 55.63% stake in QSR while Melati Asia Holdings controls 44.05%.