HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korean plasticware maker Lock & Lock Co. aims to set up 1,000 franchise stores in China by 2015 as it continues to expand in the world’s No. 2 economy, company officials said Friday.

Lock & Lock plans to boost the number of its Chinese franchise stores by 50-fold in three years from the current 20, the officials said. The number is expected to reach 100 by the end of this year.

Sales in China have recently made up 45 percent of the South Korean firm’s total revenue.

The South Korean firm’s revenue from China is expected to grow to about 1.53 billion yuan ($242 million) in 2012, up 30 percent from 1.17 billion yuan last year, they said.

The company has production and sales facilities in six Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. The South Korean company owns 100 percent of the stake in its Chinese business.

Last year, the plasticware maker scrapped its plan to sell shares of its Chinese unit on the Hong Kong stock market, as holders of its shares on the Seoul bourse reacted negatively to the earlier announcement of the possible IPO.

The scrapped deal was estimated at $300 million to $500 million.