Fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. said listing its Vietnam operations, mainly coffee shops, may take longer than expected as it works to boost its operations in the country.
Richard Shin, Jollibee chief finance officer, ruled out taking Superfood public in the near term.
In 2016, Jollibee bared plans to list Superfoods at the Vietnam Stock Exchange as early as 2019. The plan, however, petered out as the Covid-19 pandemic hit global economies.
Shin, however, said listing its Vietnam operations remains on the table, particularly the coffee business.
Its Vietnam unit operates under the Superfoods Group and has Highlands Coffee brand in its portfolio.
Noodle House Pho24 was under Superfoods before Jollibee announced its sale to Superfoods part-owner Viet Thai International Joint Stock Co. earlier this year.
Jollibee has around 700 Highlands Coffee stores the bulk of which is in Vietnam. Shin said the brand has around 40 stores in the Philippines run by a franchisee.
“We think there’s plenty of room to grow. In fact in Vietnam there are over 100,000 Vietnamese coffee shops. It’s a very interesting and unique market. We believe this brand can be spun off as a separate company. That remains as part of our strategy,” Shin said.
Stockbroker Abacus Securities Corp. said a delay in the Vietnam business’ initial public offering is beneficial for Jollibee.
“While systemwide sales in the second quarter was up 7.6 percent, same store sales were down 8.2 percent due to heavy competition and macroeconomic headwinds in Vietnam. Management is still pursuing expansion while expecting a rebound in Q4 but we are not sure given the price of robusta coffee there. As a result, the IPO is probably going to be delayed further,” it said.
