Talk of Founder Bak Kut Teh's fiscal status has started again, after a Straits Times (ST) article on Sep. 29 titled "Singapore to explore reinstating essential travel to Sichuan" mentioned the local eatery.

Eagle-eyed readers picked up on one particular line ST quoted from Second Minister for Trade and Industry and Manpower Tan See Leng:

"Two Singapore restaurant groups, Putien and Founder Bak Kut Teh, will also be opening their first outlets in western China, with Chengdu as their first stop, he added."

Public plea in July

This was especially pertinent as three months ago, the second-generation owner of Founder Bak Kut Teh took to social media with a public plea.

Nigel Chua said that business has gone down by 85 percent since the pandemic started, and that Founder might shut down if things do not take a turn for the better within two months.

The plea was met with equal parts support and backlash: while some have expressed their intention to patronise the stores, others criticised the family for their "lavish lifestyle."

China outlet planned more than a year ago

In response to queries from Mothership, Founder Bak Kut Teh said that the overseas expansion was planned by their China franchisee more than a year ago.

The outlet is also "100 per cent" funded by their Chinese partners, Founder added.

Founder has not yet received any income, as the franchisor’s income is generated through royalties, they explained.

The overseas outlet is slated to open in Dec. 2020.

On the other hand, business in Singapore is still "dire," and the eatery is closing their Bugis outlet on Oct. 1.

Founder then sought the public's understanding on their circumstances, and hoped that the clarification will quell speculations.

The brand has three other outlets at Balestier, Hotel Boss, and Downtown East.

You can read their statement in full here:

"Founder Bak Kut Teh Singapore would like to clarify that our China franchisee (not us) has actually planned for this shop opening more than a year ago. This new outlet opening is a pure franchise model which is 100% funded by our Chinese partners. The store is targeted to open in December 2020. There is no income for Founders Bak Kut Teh Singapore yet because franchisor’s income is generated through royalties.

In the meantime, business in Singapore is still dire. We are closing down our Bugis outlet starting from tomorrow, on 1 Oct 2020. Today is actually our last day of operations at Bugis.

Times are really hard, and we are really trying our best to keep the business in Singapore afloat. Please understand our circumstances, we hope this statement quell any further speculations. Thank you."

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Top image via Founder Bak Kut Teh's Facebook page