SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Hot pot chain giant Haidilao International Holding said it will be shutting down or suspending the operations of around 300 poorly performing restaurants, after having expanded aggressively in the past two years. Some restaurants will be temporarily closed for no more than two years, and resume operation "in appropriate times", the Hong Kong-listed company said in an exchange filing on Friday (Nov 5) . No employees will be laid off, and affected employees will be redeployed within the group. The closures will reportedly affect mainly outlets in China, thought some cuts will come in countries where the restaurant has expanded into. Haidilao did not specify in its bourse filing which markets would be affected, but the decision follows a rapid expansion over the past two years. The hot pot giant operates 1,597 restaurants globally, 1,491 of them in mainland China, as at end-June. This is more than a 70 per cent jump over the 935 restaurants it had globally, including 868 in mainland China, a year ago. In Singapore, Haidilao has 18 restaurants, with its 19th slated to open at Northshore Plaza, Punggol's new neighbourhood centre. Haidilao had said in a 2...