MANILA, Philippines — Homegrown fast-food operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Thursday it entered into a joint venture agreement to expand and operate popular Chinese dimsum restaurant chain Tim Ho Wan in China.
JFC said its wholly-owned subsidiary Golden Plate Pte. Ltd. (GPPL) signed a deal with Dim Sum Pte. Ltd. (DSPL) to form a joint venture company that will seal a unit franchise agreement with Tim Ho Wan Pte. Ltd. — the master franchisor of Tim Ho Wan in the Asia Pacific.
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JFC said it wants to develop and operate Tim Ho Wan stores in Shanghai and other cities in China “as may be agreed with the franchisor.”
GPPL will own 60% of the business while DSPL — a unit of Titan Dining Holdings Pte. Ltd. that owns and operates Tim Ho Wan in Singapore — will have the remaining 40%. Both companies will invest up to $13 million to their joint venture company, which will have its own resources and personnel to operate the business.
JFC has been aggressively expanding its global footprint by opening Jollibee stores overseas and acquiring foreign brands.
JFC last month said it increased its investment in Tim Ho Wan, giving the conglomerate the opportunity to have a significant interest in the franchise in the long term.
In the third quarter, JFC’s net income stood at P1.87 billion, 7.9% lower than the profit recorded in the same period last year due to losses from Smashburger in the US and Red Ribbon in the Philippines.
As of 2:36 p.m. Thursday, shares in JFC were down 1.69% to P209.60 apiece.