By Casey Hall and Sophie Yu

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) -Starbucks’ decision on Monday to sell up to 60% of its China business to local private equity firm Boyu Capital could help the hard-pressed brand regain ground in one of the world’s fastest-growing coffee markets.

By pulling in Boyu, the U.S. coffee chain is adding local capital and operational expertise into its China arm, where it plans to triple its footprint to 20,000 stores, industry analysts say.

However, Starbucks still faces mounting pressure from low-cost local rivals, including Luckin Coffee, as well as shifting consumer tastes.

Boyu, already an investor in China’s budget bubble tea leader Mixue Group, is familiar with the low end of the coffee-price spectrum. The company operates Lucky Cup, a rapidly expanding coffee ch

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