Jollibee Foods Corp., the country’s largest food service company, said Tuesday it fully divested its stake in China restaurant chain San Pin Wang for 90 million renminbi or P650 million.
Jollibee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the divestment was in line with the plan to focus on building Yonghe King business, its largest unit in China with 315 stores as of end November 2016 and an 8-percent contribution to the group’s worldwide system sales.
Jollibee said wholly-owned subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. sold its 55-percent shareholdings in San Pin Wang to joint venture partner Guangxi San Pin Wang Food and Beverage Management Company Limited.
Jollibee acquired 55 percent of San Pin Wang in March 2012. The Chinese restaurant chain had 34 stores located mostly in Nanning in Guangxi province at that time. San Pin Wang offered low-priced beef noodle.
San Pin Wang was operating 71 stores as of end-November and planned to continue expanding in 2017.
“JFC’ s divestment of its shareholdings in San Pin Wang is part of its intention to concentrate its resources on businesses with greater potential,” Jollibee said in a statement.
Jollibee’s China operations was on a decline due to stiff competition. China is an important overseas market for Jollibee.
The fast-food giant said it expected to restore growth in China as early as the fourth quarter of 2016 or first quarter of 2017.
Jollibee said with the divestment, it still had two restaurant chains in China”•Yonghe King which was acquired in 2004 and Hong Zhuang Yuan that was bought in 2008.
