Starbucks to open 1st Vietnam cafe

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Starbucks Corp. says it will open its first Vietnam cafe early next month in Ho Chi Minh City as part of its strategy to expand across Asia.

The Seattle-based chain will be entering a country of coffee lovers that already has an established market. At least two popular homegrown chains have dozens of locations across the country.

Starbucks said Thursday that it operates more than 3,300 stores across 11 countries in China and the Asia-Pacific region.

"We are looking forward to serving our customers in Vietnam in an authentic and locally relevant way," Jinlong Wang, president for Starbucks Asia Pacific, said in a statement.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer behind Brazil and already provides high-quality beans for Starbucks stores in other countries.