MANILA - Tax reform will have a "net positive" effect on the restaurant business, with people more likely to spend their extra take-home pay on eating out, a restaurateur said Thursday.

Higher prices of sugar-sweetened drinks, however, would make some businessmen re-think their "bottomless" beverage options, said Bryan Tiu, president and CEO of IFoods that manages Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, LeTAO and Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory.

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"It will be a net positive effect. It will be more take-home pay for the people. They will have more savings that they can spend on food," Tiu said in an exclusive interview with ANC's The Boss.

Tiu said he would open at least 10 new stores this year and increase his 500-strong workforce by 10 percent, focusing on the greater Manila area.

With the capital's traffic jams, Tiu said some opt to just eat their dinner at the malls while waiting for the gridlocks to die down.

IFoods, which has operations in Myanmar, has received franchise inquiries from Indonesia, Tiu said.

Tiu said the last Christmas season showed Filipinos were shifting to "premium" food items as gifts, as shown by sales of Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory.

"There was good spike for the gifting segment," he said.