MANILA -- Jollibee now has 158 stores in Vietnam, making it the third biggest quick service restaurant in the Southeast Asian country, its parent company said Monday.

In a statement, the Jollibee Foods Corporation said it hopes to take advantage of the rapidly growing fastfood industry in Vietnam.

“With Vietnam’s continued economic development and growing population, we see huge growth prospects for Jollibee in the country,” said Jolibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong.

The group also said Jollibee Vietnam continues to post strong double-digit systemwide and same-store sales growth, noting that dine-in has exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Off-premise channels also grew by high double digits even as customers returned to stores, they noted.

Jollibee opened 7 new stores in Vietnam in 2022, and 4 more in the first quarter of 2023. No stores closed amid the COVID-19 lockdown in the Southeast Asian country.

Jollibee chief financial officer Richard Shin has earlier said that aside from US and China, the "next big market" outside the Philippines is Vietnam, even as the company divested from PHO24.

• Jollibee Group drops PHO24 but eyes expansion in Vietnam

Jollibee Vietnam's bestsellers include the Chickenjoy, Sweet Chili Chicken, and the Jolly Spaghetti.

Jollibee has 1,500 stores in 17 countries all over the world. JFC said it hopes to build 600 new stores globally and eyes faster expansion in the US and China to drive the company’s long-term growth.

• Jollibee eyes 600 new stores globally, growth in China and US

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