BEIJING, Oct. 25 (AP) -- Starbucks Corp. said Tuesday it has expanded direct control of its operations in China by buying a Hong Kong company that operated more than 60 of its coffee houses.

The moves comes after China eased limits on foreign ownership of retail ventures in 2004, letting companies take full control of operations that once were required to be joint ventures.

Seattle-based Starbucks said it bought High Grown Investment Group Ltd. from its partner, private equity firm H&Q Asia Pacific, but didn't give a price. The firm operated Starbucks outlets in Beijing and the nearby city of Tianjin.

The acquisition "will permit us to achieve greater operational efficiencies (and) accelerate our expansion in China," said a statement by Jinlong Wang, president of Starbucks Greater China.

Starbucks opened its first China outlet in 1999 and has more than 200 locations in areas throughout the country.

In a visit to Beijing in February, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz described China as the gourmet coffee company's No. 1 growth market.