Customers are seen in front of Quanjude's Wangfujing Store on August 11, 2013.

Beijing-based roast duck chain China Quanjude Group has raised capital from an international private equity firm IDG Capital Management (HK) Ltd to fund further expansion in its dining business and related services, which analysts said Sunday indicates that foreign investors still have confidence in the country's sluggish high-end dining industry.

According to an agreement with Shenzhen-listed Quanjude, IDG will purchase more than 17.8 million shares for 250 million yuan ($40.9 million), Quanjude said in a statement posted on the stock exchange Saturday. Meanwhile, the company also announced it had raised 100 million yuan in more funding via share purchases by Shanghai-based Huazhu Hotels Group.

Media reports said that upon the completion of the transaction, IDG is expected to become Quanjude's second-largest shareholder with a 5.78 percent stake.

Based on significant experience in cooperating with many global companies, IDG could not only bring capital to Quanjude, but also help it with management improvement, which is likely to contribute to Quanjude's domestic expansion when the high-end dining industry undergoes an inevitable downturn, Yan Qiang, an industry analyst and partner with Beijing-based Hejun Consulting, told the Global Times Sunday.

Quanjude will apply the money to many projects, including the construction of a food production base, a cooked food workshop and more chains in Beijing and Shanghai, read the statement, a reflection of its aims to largely promote its packaged food operation as well as maintain its core business - high-end dining which has suffered losses amid declining demand.

The company recorded a 31.45 percent fall year-on-year in net profits during the first half of 2013 due to its underperforming high-end dining business and the sluggish demand for roast ducks as a result of H7N9 avian influenza, said the financial report released in August.

Many high-end restaurants have fallen out of favor recently in the wake of the central government's calls to fight against officials' extravagant habits and corruption, said Yan.

But as the domestic economy improves, the general public is likely to help the sector rebound within five or 10 years, he noted, adding that IDG's big investment in Quanjude also suggests that foreign investors still have great faith in the market's recovery.