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Jollibee gets out of restaurant business in Taiwan, Shanghai


Fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. has divested its shareholdings in restaurants in Taiwan and Shanghai and would instead focus on two bigger chains in mainland China. Jollibee told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday it had signed termination deals with Lao Dong (Taiwan) and Chun Shui Tang (Shanghai), which account for less than a percent of its worldwide sales. "Jollibee will focus on building bigger brands in the People's Republic of China. Its brands Yonghe King and Hong Zhuang Yuan with a total of 197 stores in China as of end-October now account for 9 percent of its worldwide sales and are growing at a double-digit rate," the company said. Analysts said Jollibee’s prospects remained bright in spite of the divestment. “I think it’s more of testing the markets for Jollibee. Selling out of Taiwan is not a big factor, especially if it is just one percent," said Peter Raymond Lee of IGC Securities. The Lao Dong business operates eight stores in Taiwan and was planning to open restaurants in China. The Shanghai chain, meanwhile, had two outlets in Shanghai that were shut down recently. Jollibee bought 70 percent of Lao Dong in January for P61.1 million and infused another P30.6 million in the joint venture. It bought Chun Shui Tang three years ago. The homegrown fast-food giant earlier said it was targeting to source half of its revenues from operations overseas. In the third quarter, the company's foreign businesses grew by more than half from a year earlier. In China, total sales improved by more than three-quarters. Jollibee will have opened 35 stores in China by yearend. It plans to open more stores there next year and in the years ahead. "Jollibee also plans to acquire more restaurant businesses in China," it added. The fast-food giant is the largest food network in the Philippines, operating 1,537 stores here that include Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Delifrance and Manong Pepe's. It also operates 322 stores abroad, including the brands Jollibee, Red Ribbon, Chowking, Hong Zhuang and Yonghe King. Aside from China, company officials earlier said India was another country that Jollibee would want to get into.

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