HONG KONG — Yum China Holdings, Inc., China’s largest restaurant company in terms of 2019 system sales, officially listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited yesterday. The Company’s shares continue to be listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the Hong Kong-listed shares are fully fungible with the shares listed on the NYSE.
“I am proud to witness this significant milestone for Yum China together with our more than 400,000 employees,” said Joey Wat, Chief Executive Officer of Yum China. “I would like to thank our employees for their persistent hard work. Over the past three decades, Yum China has flourished and become a leader in the restaurant industry in China. This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of our employees, past and present.”
Yum China believes that its Restaurant General Managers (“RGM”) serve as the Company’s most important leaders and are key contributors to the Company’s long-term success, a principle we call “RGM #1”. After becoming an independently listed company in 2016, Yum China announced the granting of Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) valued at US$2,000 to each qualified RGM. This program has resulted in over 9,700 frontline managers becoming shareholders of Yum China. Following the secondary listing in Hong Kong, Yum China will grant RSUs valued at US$3,000 to all eligible RGMs. The new program is expected to cover approximately 4,000 RGMs in the first year and the first grant will be made in February 2021.
With a network of restaurants across more than 1,400 cities and towns across mainland China, Yum China is creating employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people. In keeping with its vision to be the world’s most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry, Yum China is dedicated to serving its customers’ evolving needs by enhancing in-store experience, launching innovative products and delivering value. Through collaboration with stakeholders and by capitalizing on its innovative capabilities, the Company strives to foster a world-class supply chain for the food and catering industry in China. Meanwhile, as part of Yum China’s ambition to lead, the Company is firmly committed to leveraging its strengths to make a positive impact on society and give back to the communities in which it operates.
“I also want to express our gratitude to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and everyone involved for making the secondary listing happen,” said Wat.
“Looking ahead, we are excited about our long-term prospects in China. There are substantial opportunities to expand our physical locations and the potential to grow our online and digital footprint is even more promising. We remain deeply committed to China and will continue to build a stronger, nimbler and more innovative company and one that has a positive impact and creates value for our employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers and communities.”
