Tim Hortons China to create local unit to address data crackdown

TH International

24/08/2021 19:26

Aug 24 (Reuters) - Tim Hortons China will create a separate
entity of the coffee and fast-food chain to safeguard customer
data, the blank check firm, through which it aims to list in the
United States, said.
    The new entity, referred to as "NewCo" in the filing https://bit.ly/3gtZfNG
 from earlier this month, will be incorporated in China. 
    Tim Hortons China will not own any stake in the entity. The
local unit will instead enter into a long-term contract with Tim
Hortons China to provide services for a cost, according to the
filing.
    The statement comes against the backdrop of China's internet
watchdog, Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), launching a
probe https://reut.rs/3zdPZEY into Didi Global  DIDI.N  two days
after the ride-hailing giant's New York stock market debut.
    The CAC action against Didi and two other firms that went
public in the United States was swiftly followed by Beijing's
announcement that it will clamp down on overseas-traded Chinese
firms, many of them U.S.-listed tech companies, and tighten
regulation of cross-border data flows and security.
    The blank check firm Silver Crest Acquisition Corp  SLCR.O 
said that TH International Limited, or Tim Hortons China,
"believes that the creation and operation of NewCo directly
addresses the valid concerns highlighted by recent statements by
the Cyberspace Administration of China." 
    The company will inform CAC and other regulators of its
plans and operation of the separate entity, the filing said.
    Earlier this month, Tim Hortons China had agreed to go
public in a merger with Silver Crest, valuing the business at
$1.69 billion, including debt.     

 (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Echo Wang in
New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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