Burger King Enters Bolivia

MIAMI (March 12, 1999) -- Burger King Corporation announced the opening of its first Restaurant in Bolivia. The restaurant, located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is the first of ten restaurants scheduled to open in that country over the next three years.

The restaurant features 104 seats, an outdoor playground and, due to the high volume expected in the restaurant, will employ more than 100 employees. The restaurant will be owned and operated by Samuel Doria Medina, who also serves as chairman, and is the largest shareholder of SOBOCE, a cement manufacturing company, one of the top five industries in Bolivia.

As of December 31, 1998, Burger King Corporation operated 411 restaurants in the Latin American, Caribbean and Mexican Region. The company's first international restaurant opened in 1963 in Puerto Rico. Since 1994, Burger King has opened more than 300 restaurants in the Latin American region, producing some of the strongest comparable store sales growth for the brand around the world. Burger King® restaurants in Latin America serve approximately 1,600 customers per day each, making them some of the highest volume restaurants in the system.

Burger King Corporation and its franchisees operate more than 10,200 restaurants in all 50 states and in 54 countries and international territories around the world. Since the company's founding in Miami in 1954, the BURGER KING brand has become recognized for its great flame-broiled taste and HAVE IT YOUR WAY food customization process. In fiscal year 1998, Burger King has systemwide sales of $10.3 billion. Burger King Corporation is a subsidiary of Diageo plc, one of the world's leading branded consumer products companies.

Burger King Corporation, 305-378-7277