Burger King Corporation announced today that its subsidiary, Burger King Europe GmbH, has signed a development agreement with Hana International Company Limited, a subsidiary of Olayan Financing Company, the Saudi and Middle Eastern arm of The Olayan Group. The agreement gives Hana the exclusive right to develop the Burger King brand in Egypt and other north African countries.

The opening of the first Burger King restaurant will take place during the first half of 2007, at Egypt’s City Stars Mall in Cairo, one of the largest shopping malls in the region. Two further openings are due to follow shortly in Sharm El Sheikh, signalling the beginning of a large expansion program over the next five years.

To accelerate the development of the brand in new and existing markets, Olayan has signed an agreement with a strategic partner, the Kuwaiti Al-Shaya Group, through the formation of a joint venture.

Burger King Corporation signed its first development agreement with Olayan in 1991. Through Hana International, Olayan now operates or services more than 180 Burger King restaurants throughout the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, and Lebanon, and is the largest Burger King franchisee in the region. Its highly experienced international management team has helped foster four consecutive years of double-digit growth.

Peter Robinson, president of Burger King Europe GmbH, says, “Olayan has a proven track record of delivering strong results in international brand-expansion programs and we look forward to driving our growth with them. We are especially pleased to announce our expansion to Egypt, one of north Africa’s most-important economies.”

“We are excited by this opportunity to expand our agreement with Burger King,” says Lubna Olayan, Olayan Financing Company CEO. “Olayan prides itself on having built a world-class franchising organization for the Middle East, and we look forward to bringing the great flame-grilled taste to a wider market.”