Jollibee rolled out an upgraded line of beef burgers across Hong Kong on Nov. 4, priced from HK$40 a la carte and HK$53 as a meal, according to a company release. The menu change is small. The city matters far more to the Manila-based group for another reason: it is where Jollibee Foods Corp. plans to list its international business, probably in 2027.

For investors in Asia, the planned spinoff would bring one of the region's largest restaurant operators to the Hong Kong exchange, and most of what it sells abroad is coffee and tea rather than fried chicken. Of Jollibee's 7,251 international stores, more than 4,500 are beverage outlets, according to a Nikkei Asia report republished by KrASIA in September.

What Jollibee launched in Hong Kong

The refreshed Jolliburger range uses Australian beef cooked to order, the release said. The Jolliburger Deluxe, first introduced in August 2025, and a revised Jolliburger Aloha with pineapple and bacon sell for HK$40 each. A limited-time Jolliburger Truffle costs HK$42, or HK$55 with sides and a drink.

The burgers are available at Jollibee's 26 Hong Kong branches except the Euro Trade Centre store in Central, and the airport outlet carries only two of the three. The brand opened its first Hong Kong shop in Central in 1996, the release said.

Twenty-six stores is a modest footprint in a city crowded with fast-food rivals. The listing plan, however, is not about the Jollibee brand's reach in Hong Kong. It is about putting a separate valuation on the group's overseas chains.

The Hong Kong spinoff plan

Jollibee first said in January that it would spin off its international operations, initially aiming for a U.S. listing by the end of 2027, World Coffee Portal reported. On Sept. 1 the group set out a revised plan: the new company, Jollibee Foods Corporation International, or JFCI, would list on the Hong Kong stock exchange instead.

Under the structure described by Nikkei Asia, the parent keeps its Philippine Stock Exchange listing and shareholders would receive JFCI shares in proportion to their holdings. The plan is not yet final, the report said.

The overseas portfolio leans heavily on coffee. Jollibee owns 70% of South Korea's Compose Coffee, which had 3,098 stores, 80% of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (1,097 stores) and 60% of the company behind Vietnam's Highlands Coffee (1,062 stores), Nikkei Asia reported. It also holds 51% of Taiwanese tea brand Milksha, and runs Smashburger, Tim Ho Wan and Yonghe King.

Compose is still expanding beyond Korea. Its first store in Taiwan sold about NT$70,000 of drinks on its opening day, with waits of up to two hours at peak, BusinessWorld reported. Richard Shin, chief executive of Jollibee Group International, told the newspaper the brand has "unlimited potential to become a leading global brand."

The group is also adding hot pot. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission approved Jollibee's acquisition of the Shabu All Day chain through Jolli-K, a unit in which it holds 70%, according to BusinessWorld. The company expects the chain to add about 2% to revenue and 8% to global earnings before interest and taxes once the deal closes.

Why the timing is awkward

The listing plan comes in a weak year for the parent. First-half net profit fell 16.7% from a year earlier, and the report said this year's decline is the first since the Covid-19 pandemic. The group closed 207 stores in the first half, cut its 2026 opening target to 1,000 to 1,100 from 1,200 to 1,300, lowered its operating income growth goal to 10% to 15% from 15% to 18%, and trimmed capital spending by about 10%.

The home market still carries the business. Philippine operations produced 75% of global operating income, the report said, even though overseas stores far outnumber the 3,516 at home. Rising Philippine inflation, which reached 7.2% in April, and a record-low peso at the end of August added pressure. Jollibee shares were more than 30% below their level before the Iran war began, though up 27% from a late-June low, as of early September.

JFCI would also be asking investors to value coffee in a region where the big chains are under pressure. Luckin Coffee and Yum China have leaned on delivery subsidies that are now fading, and Starbucks sold control of its China business to Boyu Capital.

The next marker is Jollibee's third-quarter report, which should show whether the cost cuts are steadying profit before the spinoff moves ahead.