US fast-food chain operator CKE Restaurants, Inc. said the growth in the Vietnamese consumer market is remarkable and therefore, it wanted to take this opportunity to develop business operations in Vietnam.

CKE Restaurants, Inc. CEO Andrew F. Puzder made the statement in a press release issued on June 1 on the occasion of the opening of a Carl's Jr.(R) restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City this week.

The restaurant is the first of at least 25 Carl's Jr. units to be opened in Vietnam over the next six years and is the first major Western quick-service hamburger chain to open in the market.

Puzder said that CKE's entry into the Vietnam market is part of a strategic plan to accelerate franchise development in international markets and grow the group's system as a whole.

The 25 restaurant development deal is part of a greater development plan that CKE Restaurants has for Asia.

In addition to existing operations in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, CKE plans to open 25 Carl's Jr. restaurants in Jakarta of Indonesia.

As of the end of fiscal year 2010, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,147 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 US states and in 14 countries, including 1,221 Carl's Jr. restaurants and 1,913 Hardee's restaurants./.