Jollibee forms JV to open 120 branches in Malaysia

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), one of the largest Asian food service companies, is forming a joint venture that will aims to open 120 Jollibee branches in Malaysia.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the JFC said this will be done through its wholly owned subsidiary Golden Plate Pte. Ltd. (GPPL), a company based in Singapore.

GPPL has entered into an agreement to form a joint venture company (JVCo) with Beeworks Investment Pte. Ltd. (BIPL), to own and operate Jollibee stores in West Malaysia which covers the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

BIPL is majority-owned by Patrick Chong, a franchisee for Jollibee East Malaysia which covers Kota Kinabalu.

Chong has been a longstanding investor in Malaysia through his company The Luxasia Group, an omnichannel leader in luxury beauty and lifestyle brands.

Under the agreement, the parties will establish a company in Malaysia which will be owned 30 percent by GPPL and 70 percent by BIPL.

GPPL and BIPL have committed to initially invest USD 8.0 million to the JV, of which up to US$2.4 million will be contributed by GPPL in proportion to its ownership in the business.

The JVCo will have the exclusive license rights to develop the Jollibee brand in West Malaysia. The JVCo aims to open at least 120 stores within 10 years, starting in 2022.

JFC’s business in Southeast Asia outside the Philippines is its fastest growing region with a total of 885 stores.

It has presence in Vietnam, with 621 stores (Highlands Coffee 427, Jollibee 143, Pho 24 45, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf [CBTL] 6), Singapore 72 stores (CBTL 61, Jollibee 11), Malaysia 104 (CBTL 103, Jollibee 1), Indonesia 88 (CBTL 72, Pho 24 16). JFC’s Southeast Asia business accounted for 6.7% of its global system wide sales.

“The creation of the joint venture for Jollibee West Malaysia will accelerate even more this growth and will help make Southeast Asia a more significant business for the JFC group,” the firm said.

The Jollibee Group of Companies operates 17 brands in 33 countries. As of June 30, 2021, it was operating a total of 5,816 stores, with 3,192 in the Philippines and 2,624 outside the Philippines mostly in North America with 353 stores, China with 407, and Vietnam with 682.

Its largest brands in terms of global store network are Jollibee with 1,487, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf with 1,051, Chowking with 607, Red Ribbon 527, Yonghe King with 364, Smashburger with 239 and Mang Inasal with 585.

Article and Photo originally posted by Manila Bulletin last July 29, 2021 3:35pm and written by James A. Loyola.