Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), the country’s largest restaurant group, reiterated its continued interest in an initial public offering (IPO) for Highlands Coffee in Vietnam but emphasized that any listing must be strategically aligned with long-term value creation, not just market timing.
At a recent online briefing, JFC chief financial officer Richard Chong Woo Shin confirmed that the fast-growing Vietnamese coffee brand remains a strong IPO candidate. However, he said the JFC is approaching the opportunity with caution and a focus on shareholder value.
“Yes, the numeric says it can go IPO. But we don’t want to just go IPO for the sake of IPO,” Shin stated. “When we take this to a capital market opportunity to create value for shareholders, we want to be very thoughtful and think about the best way we can move forward.”
Highlands Coffee, which operates under the SuperFoods Group in which JFC holds a majority stake, has seen remarkable growth since Jollibee’s entry in 2012. From just 56 stores at the time of acquisition—many of them unprofitable—the brand now operates 850 cafés in Vietnam (716 company-owned, 134 franchised), as well as 50 franchised outlets in the Philippines.
Despite Highlands Coffee’s strong financial performance and brand dominance—accounting for market share equivalent to the next four competitors combined—Shin suggested that a standalone IPO in Vietnam may not currently be the optimal structure.
“Highlands Coffee going IPO, for example, in Vietnam as a standalone company is not something that we believe is the best way to take this forward,” he said.
Shin stressed JFC’s commitment to Vietnam, even during periods of geopolitical uncertainty, including heightened tensions between Vietnam and China in recent years.
“We continue to build new stores, and we continue to believe in the brand,” he said, adding that JFC never scaled back operations despite external risks. “We were very satisfied with the strategy not to pull back due to fears that a war may erupt between the two socialist nations.”
Vietnam’s status as the world’s leading producer of robusta coffee beans has been instrumental to Highlands Coffee’s supply chain strength. The brand works closely with third-party farmers to ensure consistent quality at competitive prices, reinforcing its cost and margin advantages.
“The upstream supply chain strength has even become stronger as we become such a dominant business and brand,” Shin said. “We work very closely with our farmers… and they provide us with consistent quality beans at very good pricing.”
With Highlands Coffee’s strong fundamentals and market dominance, a future IPO remains on the table. However, JFC’s cautious stance signals a preference for timing the offering in alignment with broader corporate strategy, possibly involving a multi-market or regional growth narrative to attract global investors.
The announcement underscores JFC’s evolving role not just as a fast-food conglomerate but as a player in the premium coffee and café segment across Asia. Analysts see the potential IPO as a milestone in JFC’s ongoing international expansion and diversification efforts.
While no definitive timeline has been set, market watchers will continue to monitor JFC’s next steps as it considers tapping the capital markets for Highlands Coffee.
