MANILA – Jollibee, the Filipino fast-food giant famous for crispy fried chicken, has set its sights on conquering more overseas markets.

On Jan 5, Jollibee Foods Corporation announced plans to spin off and separately list its international business in the United States, an ambitious move that can potentially open access to deep pools of capital to fund its global expansion.

A US listing is a game-changer for Jollibee,” said Filipino business strategist Jonathan Ravelas. “It gives the brand global visibility and credibility, which matters in competitive markets like the US,” he said.

Mr Ravelas, who now runs his own advisory firm after previously serving as chief market strategist at BDO Unibank, told The Straits Times that the plan signals Jollibee’s intention to position itself as a global growth player rather than a domestic food company with overseas sidelines.

Another analyst, Mr Juan Paalo Colet, managing director of the Manila-based Chinabank Capital Corporation, told local newspaper Manila Bulletin that the planned US listing is a “novel” strategy for Jollibee that could potentially benefit existing shareholders.

Jollibee already has a significant footprint globally,

including operations in Singapore

, where it runs more than 20 outlets alongside other brands such as The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Smashburger. The group operates hundreds of stores across Asia, North America and the Middle East, making overseas markets an increasingly important part of its business.

Jollibee plans to separate its overseas operations into a new entity that it aims to list on a US exchange by late 2027, while keeping its local operations listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Existing shareholders will receive shares in the international unit, allowing them to hold or trade the two businesses separately.

Jollibee was started in 1975 as an ice cream parlour by Chinese-Filipino businessman Tony Tan Caktiong in Metro Manila. The small family-run sto...