MANILA - Jollibee Foods Corp on Thursday said it has signed a joint venture to own and operate Jollibee stores in West Malaysia including the country's capital Kuala Lumpur.

The venture involves the opening of at least 120 stores within ten years starting in 2022, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

JFC's unit Golden Plate Pte Ltd based in Singapore formed a joint venture company with Beeworks Investments Pte Ltd for the fast-food chain's entry to West Malaysia, JFC said.

Under the deal, the parties will establish a company in Malaysia which 30 percent will be owned by Golden Plate while 70 percent will be owned by Beeworks Investments, the country's largest restaurant operator said.

Both parties have committed to initially invest $8 million (P402 million) to the joint venture, of which up to $2.4 million (P120 million) will be from Golden Plate "in proportion to its ownership in the business," it added.

Beeworks Investments is majority-owned by Jollibee East Malaysia franchisee Patrick Chong. Chong's Luxasia Group, which carries luxury and lifestyle brands, has been a "longstanding" investor in Malaysia, JFC said.

JFC said its Southeast Asia business has a total of 885 stores.

The Jollibee Group, one of the fastest-growing companies in Asia, operates 17 brands in 33 countries with a total network of 5,816 stores globally.

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