BACKGROUND OF CHOWKING Chowking is a Philippine-based Chinese fast-food restaurant chain.

It primarily sells dimsum, rice toppings and noodle soups. Chowking was founded by Robert Kuan in the year 1985. Because of Chowkings steady expansion through the 1980s and 1990s, it became the number one Chinese fastfood chain in the Philippines in terms of gross sales and number of outlets. The franchising program, launched in the year 1989, was one of the biggest reasons why Chowking grew at an astonishing rate during the 1980s and the 1990s. Chowking was only four (4) years old when it launched its franchising program. The franchising program enabled Chowking to penetrate new markets and extend its reach without straining its resources. This franchising program enabled local investors and entrepreneurs to find a promising investment. In order to introduce Chowking internationally, Chowking opened its first foreign store in the United States through a franchising agreement with a US-based Filipino-American company during the year 1995. In January 1, 2000, Chowking became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jollibee Foods Corporation. Jollibee Foods Corporation is the biggest fast food chain in the Philippines. Chowking opened two (2) stores in Jakarta, Indonesia during the year 2005. Chowking opened a store in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the year 2006. In 2011, following the expiration of the franchising agreement with the US-based Filipino-American company, Jollibee took control over the franchised operations in the United Stated. In 2011, Chowking is one of the first restaurants to be Halal-certified courtesy of the Indonesia Ulema Council. This resulted to an increase number of Muslim customers which would indicate that Chowking is a fast food restaurant that caters to the needs and wants of the general public. References: Chowking. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 20, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chowking franphil. (2007, March 4). Chowking Restaurant Franchise. Philippine Franchise Information. Retrieved August 20, 2013, from http://www.franphil.com/chowking-restaurant-franchise/