Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc.’s Fatburger this week unveiled an elaborate international expansion strategy for 2010 and beyond in the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

“Despite the recent downturn in the domestic economy, the international market is on fire,” says Andy Wiederhorn, chairman of Fatburger. “The Middle East and Asia Pacific are becoming exciting territories for us. Our current locations in these regions have been extremely well received. We are committed to serving our customers abroad by rapidly growing the number of our locations from 16 to 56 stores.”

Highlights of Fatburger’s global expansion include:

·In Saudi Arabia, 17 stores are planned, with a first location scheduled to open in 2010 in Riyadh;

·Five new stores are scheduled in Kuwait with construction underway now in Kuwait City for its first opening in 2010;

·Deals totaling 30 stores were recently signed for Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Oman;

·In Dubai, Fatburger opened its first store in the region in 2008 in Dubai Mall at the base of the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, and is opening its second store in early 2010. The company has unveiled plans to open six additional locations in the city;

·In Asia Pacific, a Beijing store is presently under construction and will open in February. Currently locations are open in Macao, Hong Kong, and Jakarta with additional locations planned for these cities, including seven more stores for Indonesia and three for Singapore; and

·15-store additional deal for Canada on top of the existing 12 stores.

Fatburger currently boasts 16 locations outside the United States, in Canada, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with plans to open more than 40 locations internationally in the next several years.