Jollibee: Foreign operations to grow by 25%

Fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. expects its foreign operations to account for 25 percent of business in the next two-three years and 50 percent by 2017. “We believe overseas business to continue to grow. We will be able to deliver the 25 percent growth even without new acquisitions," Jollibee chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa said in an interview Monday. “But if we acquire more businesses, then we will further accelerate the growth of our overseas business," he added. Jollibee is planning to put up another 100 stores overseas. As of end-September, Jollibee operates a total of 375 stores in the US, China, Vietnam, and Middle East. The company’s aggressive expansion overseas will not affect its Philippine plans, Baysa pointed out. “We look forward to a reasonable growth in the economy and we look forward to more stores opening next year in the Philippines. Our bigger store opening overseas will not lessen store openings in the Philippines," he said. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV