AT THE beginning of May, the president of McDonald's International boasted the American fast-food giant would open 10 more outlets in China before the year was out.
But that confident prediction has not materialised.
Six months later the company has opened just three more restaurants and scaled down its year-end plans, although it remains upbeat about its future in the world's largest consumer market.
At its most optimistic, McDonald's now sees only four more of its restaurants opening this year.
But even this goal looks increasingly unlikely as 1993 draws to a close.
The problem has nothing to do with the popularity of the ubiquitous burgers - the Guangzhou restaurant holds the world record for busy McDonald's opening days with 14,123 transactions.
This compares with 13,124 transactions at the chain when it opened in Beijing. According to McDonald's, the problem has everything to do with quality control.
