In a bid to take advantage of fast growing markets of India and China, coffee giant Starbucks has announced its plans to open thousands of new stores in the two countries.

Howard Schultz, chief executive officer of Starbucks, said that thousands of stores would be opened in India in the not-too-distant future, which would make India one of the company's two largest markets along with China, outside North America.

Announcing the plans, Schultz said, "I believe China and India offer Starbucks one of the greatest opportunities for growth. Our plan over time is that the number of our stores in India will rival the size and scale of what we have planned for China - thousands of stores."

He also expressed optimism that India would gradually become one of Starbucks' top growth drivers. He added that the coffee giant's partnership with Tata Sons would help it grow faster. It may be noted here that the foreign coffee giant has 50/50 joint venture with Tata Sons in India.

Schultz quoted instances like fast-grow of middle class, consumers' strong aspirations & enthusiasm for western brands, development in the country's infrastructure and healthy changes in the regulatory framework as positive signs for growth-seeking foreign companies.