Jollibee forms joint venture to open 120 stores in Malaysia
The JV company will possess the exclusive license rights to develop the fried chicken brand in West Malaysia.
Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is eyeing a larger presence in Malaysia, revealing plans to open at least 120 new restaurants under the eponymous fried chicken brand in 10 years.
In a disclosure to the local stock exchange, the company said its wholly owned Singapore-based subsidiary, Golden Plate Pte. Ltd. (GPPL), signed a deal to form a joint venture company to own and operate stores in West Malaysia, which includes Kuala Lumpur.
The joint venture partner is Beeworks Investment Pte. Ltd. (BIPL), majority owned by Patrick Chong, who is a franchisee for Jollibee East Malaysia that covers Kota Kinabalu.
Under the agreement, the parties will establish a Malaysian company that is 30% owned by GPPL and 70% by BIPL.
Both GPPL and BIPL have committed to initially invest US$8 million to the joint venture, of which up to $2.4 million will be contributed by GPPL in proportion to its ownership in the business.
The JV company will possess the exclusive license rights to develop the Jollibee brand in West Malaysia. Stores will be rolled out at the beginning of next year.
Currently, JFC has 104 stores in Malaysia, only one of which is under the Jollibee brand. The remaining stores consist of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which Jollibee bought in 2019.
At present, Southeast Asia accounts for 6.7% of JFC’s global sales coming from a total of 885 stores.
“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 disclosure said.
