Taipei  - Taiwan's food and beverage giant the Uni-President Group plans to expand its investment in Shanghai ahead of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, a newspaper said on Friday.

Uni-President Group has earmarked 3.5 billion Taiwan dollars (109 million US) to expand its operations in Shanghai, the Apple Daily said.

The expansion includes raising the number of Starbucks coffee outlets from 131 to 170 and the number of the Cold Stone ice cream stores from 9 to 36.

The 2010 World Expo 2010 will be held from May 1-October 31, 2010, in Shanghai. It is expected to to attract more than 70 million visitors. Some 200 countries and dozens of cities and international organizations have been invited to attend World Expo 2010. (dpa)