MANILA, Philippines - Fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is preparing to open its first branch in Canada this year while hoping to make its initial foray into Europe and Japan over the next two to three years.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum yesterday, JFC chief finance officer Ysmael V. Baysa said the company is “most likely” to bring its Jollibee brand to Canada this year.

For the firm’s planned entry into Japan and Europe, he said it would still depend on the availability of the sites but works are currently ongoing.

“You really have to be patient to get the right sites because in everything we do we have to choose the right locations. We want to find the best locations because you have to be where your target customers are and you have to wait for the right time. Otherwise you won’t be successful,” Baysa said.

He said Canada, Japan and Europe are among the locations being eyed due to the growing number of Filipinos in these areas.

JFC ended 2014 with a total branch network of 2,913 stores worldwide across its brand portfolio. As of end-December last year, it operated the largest fastfood service network in the country with a total of 2,301 restaurants - 858 Jollibee, 410 Chowking, 211 Greenwich, 323 Red Ribbon, 456 Mang Inasal, and 43 Burger King.

Aside from the planned expansion of the Jollibee brand abroad, Baysa said JFC is also gearing up to aggressively expand the Dunkin’ Donuts brand in China this year.

He said JFC intends to open five Dunkin’ Donuts stores in China this year, with an investment of P12 million to P15 million per store.

JFC in January this year finalized an agreement to be the exclusive operator of the Dunkin’ Donuts brand in the world’s second largest economy together with partner Jasmine Asset Holding Ltd.

The tandem already committed to open and operate a minimum of 1,459 Dunkin’ Donuts shops across China over 20 years.

The homegrown fastfood giant saw its net profit increase 12.7 percent last year to P5.3 billion as sales from its restaurant network sustained double-digit growth.