THE chains under TGI Fridays Malaysia continue to operate as usual and remain unaffected by the recent Chapter 11 filing by TGI Fridays Inc in the US.

Craveat International Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of loss-making Techna-X Bhd, is the master franchisee and developer for TGI Fridays Malaysia.

In a statement yesterday, Techna-X said the local restaurant franchise operates under the franchise agreement with TGI Fridays Franchisor LLC, which is separate from TGI Fridays and was not impacted by the restructuring in the US.

TGI Fridays Franchisor has franchised the brand to 56 franchisees in 41 countries. All of these franchise locations, both domestic and international, are independently owned and therefore not included in TGI Fridays’ Chapter 11 process. They are open and serving customers as usual, according to the statement.

TGI Fridays, which oversees 39 corporate-owned restaurants in the US, filed for Chapter 11 protection on Nov 2 in Dallas, Texas, a step taken to allow it to reorganise and restructure its financial operations to ensure long-term stability.

The filing impacts only corporate-owned restaurants in the US while franchise locations worldwide remain unaffected. TGI Fridays continues to operate more than 400 restaurants globally, it added.

TGI Fridays Malaysia CEO Lee Yew Jin said it was opening a new outlet at Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur this month.

On Bursa Malaysia, Techna-X has failed to submit its outstanding annual report for the financial period ended June 30, 2024, and requested for more time to allow the external auditors to complete its audit.

The counter closed at 10 sen yesterday, valuing the company at RM24 million — TMR