The annual meeting of the stockholders of Jollibee Foods Corporation is now called to order. In line with existing statutory requirements as provided under the Revised Corporation Code and the issuance of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the corporation is conducting its 2021 virtual annual stockholders meeting. To all our fellow JFC stockholders, thank you for participating in this year's meeting through the voting in absentia system or voting via proxy and sending your questions to our corporate secretary's official email. Welcome everyone to this afternoon's live webcast. In accordance with the corporation's bylaws, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, I am presiding over this meeting. Further, in the event of any internet connection issues encountered during the proceedings, an officer of the corporation will continue the proceedings.
Will the Corporate Secretary please certify that notices have been sent to the stockholders and that a quorum exists in the meeting to transact business?
Good afternoon. In my capacity as Corporate Secretary of Jollibee Foods Corporation, I hereby certify that in compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission requirements, the notice of this meeting has been published in two newspapers of general circulation, BusinessWorld and The Manila Times, both in print and online versions, last June 3 and June 4, 2021. The notice of meeting and the information statement are made available to our stockholders and the public via disclosure through the PSE EDGE system and posting in the corporation's website. I certify that there are present in this meeting, in person or by proxy, stockholders representing 847,326,948 shares, or 76.422%, which constitute more than majority of the total issued and outstanding shares . This meeting is therefore competent to transact business for which it was called.
Thank you, Mr. Tan Untiong, for certifying that there exists a quorum to proceed with today's meeting. Good afternoon, everyone. I am JJ Salgado, and I will be your host for this afternoon. We acknowledge the presence of the members of the Board of Directors, the members of the executive team, and other corporate officers who are with us today. Finally, we acknowledge representatives from SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Company, Marsh Philippines, Inc., and our other insurance partners, Romulo Law, Picazo Law, various banks, equity research firms and stock brokerage houses, and members of the media. For good order in this afternoon's meeting, please allow me to give you a summary of the rules and procedures observed in our online registration and voting in absentia system.
These rules and procedures form part of the Corporation's information statement as its Annex A, which has been made publicly available via the Corporation's statutory submissions and through the Corporation's website. Number one, only stockholders of record as of record date May 28, 2021, shall be entitled to vote or be voted at this meeting by registration under the voting in absentia system or voting by proxy. Only those who have successfully registered through the online system or have submitted duly accomplished proxy forms as of June 15, 2021, shall participate in this meeting. Number two, stockholders were given until noon today to cast their votes on the matters included in the agenda. We have referred to the results of the tabulation for votes received as of June 15th as basis in proceeding with this afternoon's meeting. The final results shall be reflected in the minutes of the meeting.
Number three, stockholders were also invited to submit their questions to the email corporatesecretary@jollibee.com.ph. Among the questions sent, we have selected the questions for this afternoon's program.
Thank you, Ms. Salgado. Let us now proceed to the agenda item on the approval of the minutes of the last annual meeting of the stockholders are held on July 24, 2020. An electronic copy of the draft minutes was posted and made available via the corporate website within the statutory period. May we have the corporate secretary provide the voting results on this agenda item?
For the foregoing agenda item mentioned by the Chairman, stockholders owning more than majority of the total issued and outstanding shares gave their affirmative votes.
The next item in the agenda is the management's report. A copy of the President's message to our stockholders is included in the annual report that is posted in the corporation's website. We have prepared a pre-recorded speech from our President and Chief Executive Officer to be followed by an audiovisual presentation.
Fellow shareholders, colleagues from the Board and management, ladies and gentlemen, a jolly afternoon to you all. Welcome to Jollibee Foods Corporation's Annual Stockholders' Meeting. When the year 2020 started, we were looking forward to a great year. Our businesses across all regions were performing strongly in January in sales and profit. The coronavirus pandemic struck. It had caused the largest economic downturn in decades and affected the lives of practically everyone in the world. Our business in China was the first to be hit by the pandemic in late January. By mid-March, our businesses in the Philippines, other parts of the world, started to suffer the impact of the pandemic, resulting in temporary closure of 50% of JFC stores worldwide. At the end of the first quarter of 2020, as lockdowns were gradually lifted across all regions, we slowly reopened stores.
By the end of the year 2020, 96% of the JFC's worldwide outlets were already operating. For the entire year, JFC's sales dropped significantly. It incurred losses in the first three quarters of the year. Despite the uncertainties, we stayed clearly focused on our mission to serve great tasting food, bringing the joy of eating to everyone. We strengthened our off-premise channels in order to continue to serve our customers. We enhanced delivery, boosted takeout sales, and introduced curbside pickup. We also improved the turnaround time of drive-thru operations and launched new products suited for off-premise consumption. Our off-premise channels became the driver of our business and contributed a greater percentage of total sales. We focused on rebuilding our business along with implementing major cost improvement under our business transformation program. We spent a total of PHP 6.7 billion out of the total PHP 7 billion provision.
JFC generated savings from the program and about PHP 2.6 billion are expected to be realized annually in full in 2021 and the years ahead. JFC's consolidated revenues decreased by 28% to PHP 129.3 billion, primarily as a result of closure of stores and lower sales per store. System-wide sales, which measure sales to consumers, both from group-owned and franchise stores, decreased by 27.8% to PHP 176 billion. Same-store sales growth of the domestic business declined by 34.4% due to higher level of restrictions imposed in the Philippines, while foreign business same-store sales declined by 12.4%. In general, same-store sales recovered faster in developed countries than in developing countries due to higher purchasing power fueled by the stimulus package from their governments and unemployment pay from their Social Security System.
JFC's consolidated net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company amounted to PHP 11.5 billion, the largest loss and the only recorded annual loss in JFC's history. While JFC's loss for the year was quite significant, JFC was able to return to profitability in the fourth quarter after hitting its lowest point in the second quarter. It generated a PHP 2 billion net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company. JFC started to generate positive EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, as early as June 2020. In the fourth quarter, EBITDA amounted to PHP 7.1 billion compared to PHP 1.4 billion in the third quarter. Through our wholly owned subsidiary, Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd., or JWPL, JFC issued senior perpetual securities in January 2020 and senior debt securities in June 2020.
Proceeds from these issuances, net of the payment for short-term debt for the acquisition of CBTL, remain mostly intact and invested in money market and fixed income funds. JFC recognized PHP 1.3 billion gained from the investment in financial assets contributing to JFC's consolidated profit. We strengthened our balance sheet. JFC's total assets increased by 12.5% to PHP 210.8 billion due to our US dollar denominated investments worth PHP 35.7 billion. JFC maintained a cash balance of PHP 21.4 billion, 2.2% higher than the cash balance at the end of 2019. Our balance sheet reflected JFC's capability to withstand the crisis and to invest for long-term growth when and where opportunities arise. In 2020, JFC spent PHP 5.9 billion in CapEx, lower than the PHP 14.2 billion investment originally planned for the year.
JFC became far more selective in its investment in 2020 to preserve cash as a precautionary measure in the business downturn. JFC opened 338 new stores in 2020. For the first time in JFC's history, more new stores were opened abroad than in the Philippines. JFC opened its first Tim Ho Wan restaurant in mainland China, marking the Michelin-starred restaurant's entry into the world's second-largest consumer economy. JFC aims to build a significant business serving Chinese cuisine in different parts of the world. In October 2020, JFC, through JWPL, increased its participating interest in the Titan Fund from 60% to 85%. Despite the crisis, JFC declared a cash dividend of PHP 1.30, which was paid out from JFC's cash reserves in May and December 2020.
Through JFC's social responsibility arm, the Jollibee Group Foundation, JFC provided assistance to communities around the world that have been affected by the pandemic and other natural disasters. In January, JGF helped displaced families affected by the Taal Volcano eruption. At the onset of the pandemic, JFC donated PHP 220 million worth of food from our brands. JFC also gave similar assistance to hospitals and healthcare institutions in China and the United States in communities where we operate. JFC allocated an emergency response fund amounting to PHP 1 billion to help our employees and our partners in the Philippines. That concludes my report for 2020. Let me now give you an update on the current situation of our business.
In the first quarter of 2021, JFC generated an operating income of PHP 1.5 billion, representing a significant recovery from the operating loss of PHP 1.2 billion suffered in the same period a year ago. Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company for the first quarter amounted to PHP 152.6 million, significantly lower than JFC's operating income. This was mainly due to the interest expense and the impact of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, or CREATE Act, in the Philippines. The value of deferred tax assets decreased by PHP 629.4 million, which increased the provision for income tax for the first quarter of 2021. The reduction in income tax rates will reduce income taxes on future profits. System-wide sales of JFC decreased by 13.4% to PHP 47.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter last year.
Revenues declined by 12%. Our profit and cash flows recovered strongly versus a year ago, reflecting the successful execution of our Business Transformation Program. Practically every cost item in our company decreased far more than our sales decline. While we still face significant challenges in the Philippines, our domestic business provided the most profit contribution among our regions in the world. It grew operating profit by 23.7% in the first quarter of 2021, despite a 21.3% decline in sales. We look forward to a strong recovery of our Philippine business in the months ahead and even faster sales and profit growth of our businesses abroad. JFC opened 79 new stores and permanently closed 76 stores in the first quarter.
The year 2020 was extremely challenging for JFC, as for most other businesses, but I've always believed in our JFC family's resiliency and perseverance that have seen us through many obstacles before. JFC has emerged stronger from this crisis as we move forward to achieving our vision of becoming one of the top five restaurant companies in the world. To the JFC employees, thank you for your endurance against adversities, your hard work, and your commitment. I would also like to thank our business partners, our franchises, suppliers, landlords, and lessors who work with us in finding mutually viable solutions to address the challenges brought by the pandemic. Thank you to the JFC Board of Directors for your guidance and support. To you, our shareholders and customers, thank you for the trust you have placed on us.
In a year challenged by the pandemic, the Jollibee Group remained resilient and underwent a business transformation to meet the changing needs of its customers. 2020 saw game-changing innovations from its brands as the company emerged stronger from the pandemic. Jollibee remained steadfast in delivering joy. Amidst the pandemic, Jollibee's delivery service stepped up to safely provide high quality food to consumers, bringing 100% system-wide sales growth and contributing to 12% of total sales. The new Jollibee app provided accessibility and convenience to customers, getting 1 million downloads within a month. Through its campaigns, Jollibee reinforced its best sellers as enablers of family bonding and reassured customers that safety is prioritized across all Jollibee services. The brand's heart-tugging Christmas ad, "Joy of Family" from its acclaimed #KwentongJollibee series, garnered 55 million views.
Jollibee North America quickly recovered and ended the year with double-digit system-wide sales growth and 16 new restaurants across the region. In the EMEA region, Jollibee saw exponential growth in its delivery channels and opened multiple cloud kitchens in the Middle East and Singapore. With its superior tasting products, it is seeing mainstream success in markets such as Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, and Europe. Greenwich Barkada's optimistic and collaborative attitude proved to be an asset in a challenging year. This year saw total Pizza Average Daily Sales growing 25% versus pre-pandemic, resulting in double-digit sales growth. The number one pizza and pasta brand in the Philippines became more accessible by offering call and pick-up, and park, order, and go services.
With an aggressive pivot to delivery, Greenwich grew its delivery network from 47% of stores before the pandemic to 87%, and posted an all-time delivery sales record of over PHP 1.5 billion by end of 2020. By focusing on great tasting new products and off-premise channel growth, Chowking maintained its position as the country's leading Chinese fast food brand. The brand improved existing products and expanded its delivery coverage to 84% of its store network, tripling delivery sales, earning accolades, and pushing the brand to fourth place in the branded eat-out category. Internationally, Chowking achieved milestones with store openings in the Middle East and its highest volume of siopao sales in the U.S., where it also adapted to delivery platforms such as DoorDash. Despite a challenging year, Yonghe King emerged second in operating profits among JFC brands worldwide in the second half of 2020.
Yonghe King's delivery service saw double-digit growth for the third straight year, growing 25% and accounting for 50% of the brand's systemwide sales. Yonghe King fast-tracked its digital transformation, even launching live webcasts, which garnered over 30 million views and sales of over CNY 1 billion. Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, Red Ribbon emerged stronger, opening 20 new stores and growing delivery by almost 700% versus pre-pandemic. By the end of the year, Red Ribbon Philippines fully returned to its pre-pandemic average daily sales level. Red Ribbon USA registered significant growth compared to pre-pandemic levels with its bestsellers, offering delivery via DoorDash to serve more customers at home. Aggressive digital marketing was key to Hong Zhuang Yuan's success in 2020. The brand grew its Loyalty Program Membership to 500,000, with members' consumption accounting for 60.7% of total sales.
Delivery accounted for 60% of total store sales, from 40% in 2019. Mang Inasal quickly adapted to new business realities brought by the pandemic, expanding its offerings across channels, and strengthening partnerships with GrabFood and foodpanda. Mang Inasal also enhanced its menu, offering new products and family-sized servings to push its value-for-money proposition. To sustain Burger King Philippines' relevance in the new normal, the brand focused on pivot plans that catered to the customer at home. Among its campaigns and promos, most notable was Thank You Whopper, which honored quarantine heroes through a Whopper. BK achieved even stronger momentum with the local launch of Angry Whopper and Plant-Based Whopper to bring Average Day-Sales back to pre-pandemic levels, thanks to the aggressive growth of off-premise channels. Takeout, drive-thru, and delivery made up 79% of all sales.
BK ended the year at the 11th spot in the branded eat-out category from its 17th place finish in 2019. Highlands Coffee remains to be the market leader of Vietnam's coffee retailing market. The brand opened 101 stores in Vietnam and the Philippines, continuing to play a key role in the largest and fastest-growing coffee market across Southeast Asia. PHO24 achieved remarkable results in 2020. Delivery rose from 0%-25% of all transactions at the start of the lockdown, stabilizing to around 10%-15% after the lockdown was lifted. The brand had a 64% network growth with the opening of 14 new stores.
With a slew of great-tasting new products launched in 2020, such as the Smoked Bacon Brisket Burger and the Colorado Burger, Smashburger achieved industry-leading same-store sales growth and massive market share gains, thanks to a major smash rebranding, improvements in digital strategy, and expansion of e-commerce platforms. The brand achieved a 436% increase in digital sales. CBTL opened 55 stores worldwide, most notably in the U.S., Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the Philippines. CBTL USA expanded existing partnerships and re-platformed its e-commerce site, contributing to a 108% sales increase from 2019. CBTL Singapore and Malaysia broadened their menu offerings and expanded third-party delivery platforms. As the world grappled with a challenging year, the Jollibee Group not only weathered the storm but also offered aid to communities that needed it the most. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the company has emerged stronger as an organization and as a business.
The Jollibee group remains steadfast in its mission of serving great-tasting food and bringing the joy of eating to everyone, and in its vision of becoming one of the top 5 restaurant companies in the world.
The next agenda item is the approval of the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, and annual report. May we have the Corporate Secretary provide the voting results on this agenda item.
For the foregoing agenda item mentioned by the Chairman, stockholders owning more than a majority of the total issued and outstanding shares gave their affirmative votes.
The next item on the agenda is the ratification of the actions taken by the Board of Directors and officers of the corporation since the last annual stockholders meeting on July 24, 2020. May we have the Corporate Secretary provide the voting results on this agenda item.
For the foregoing agenda item mentioned by the Chairman, stockholders owning more than a majority of the total issued and outstanding shares gave their affirmative votes.
The next item on the agenda is the approval of the amendments to Article 2 of the amended articles of incorporation to clarify and ensure for the avoidance of doubt that the company and its subsidiaries, in pursuit of its primary business purpose, can invest in, acquire, own, hold, use, sell, assign, transfer, lease, mortgage, exchange, or otherwise dispose of real and personal properties of every kind and description or interest therein. May we have the Corporate Secretary provide the voting results on this agenda item.
For the foregoing agenda item mentioned by the Chairman, stockholders owning more than 2/3 of the total issued and outstanding shares gave their affirmative votes.
The next item on the agenda is the approval of the amendments to Article 7 of the amended articles of incorporation to reclassify and divide the authorized capital stock of the corporation into 1.43 Billion common shares with a par value of PHP 1 per share and 20 million cumulative non-voting, non-participating, and non-convertible perpetual preferred shares with a par value of PHP 1 per share. May we have the corporate secretary provide the voting results on this agenda item.
For the foregoing agenda item mentioned by the Chairman, stockholders owning more than 2/3 of the total issued and outstanding shares gave their affirmative votes.
The next item on the agenda is the approval of the shelf registration and listing of 20 million preferred shares and initial offer and issuance of up to 12 million preferred shares. May we request the Corporate Secretary to provide a brief background on the matter and to also provide the voting results on this agenda item.
In connection with the shelf registration and listing of preferred shares on May 11, 2021, the Board of Directors approved the following matters, among others: One, application for the shelf registration and listing of 20 million cumulative non-voting, non-participating, and non-convertible perpetual preferred shares at an offer price of up to PHP 1,000 per share or the offer shares to be issued within a period of three years. Two, initial offer and issuance of up to 12 million preferred shares. Three, filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the appropriate registration statement and prospectus for the offer shares. Four, filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange of the listing application for the offer shares.
Five, engagement of the services of underwriters, advisors, legal counsels, stock and transfer agent, receiving agent or bank, and other agents as may be necessary, proper, or desirable to effect the offer and issuance of the offer shares. The issuance of the preferred share is part of JFC's plan to restructure its financial obligations in order to strengthen its balance sheet, spread the maturity of its financial obligations, and reduce its foreign exchange risk. This is also part of the action steps to reduce its debt and financing cost as its business in different parts of the world recover from the severe impact of the pandemic.
For the agenda item on the approval of the shelf registration and listing of 20 million preferred shares and initial offer and issuance of up to 12 million preferred shares, stockholders owning more than 2/3 of the total issued and outstanding shares gave their affirmative votes.
The next item on the agenda is the election of the members of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Chairman, following our bylaws, the nominees included in the final list of candidates submitted to me by the nomination committee are Tony Tan Caktiong, William Tan Untiong, Ernesto Tanmantiong, Antonio Chua Poe Eng, Ang Cho Sit.
Retired Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban. Cesar V. Purisima as Independent Director. Kevin Goh as Independent Director. Ee Rong Chong as Independent Director. In compliance with statutory requirements, the information on the nominees is included in the corporation's information statement. Considering that the Board has nine seats and only nine candidates have been nominated, the secretary is hereby ordered to cast all votes in favor of all those nominated. Thus, the following are elected as members of the Board of Directors: Tony Tan Caktiong, William Tan Untiong, Ernesto Tanmantiong, Antonio Chua Poe Eng, Ang Cho Sit, Retired Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, Cesar V. Purisima as Independent Director, Kevin Goh as Independent Director, Ee Rong Chong as Independent Director. Congratulations to the newly elected members of the Board of Directors. The organizational meeting of the newly elected directors shall be held immediately after this meeting.
We shall proceed to the next item in the agenda, the appointment of external auditors for the fiscal year ending 2021. We wish to inform everyone that the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020, was prepared by the corporation and reviewed by the auditing firm of SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Company. May we have the corporate secretary provide the voting results on this agenda item.
For the foregoing agenda item mentioned by the Chairman, stockholders owning more than majority of the total issued and outstanding shares give their affirmative votes.
Thank you, Mr. Tan Untiong. Prior to the meeting, our stockholders sent their questions and feedback to the corporate secretary at jollibee.com.ph email address. Among the questions sent, we have selected the questions for this afternoon's program. For our question number one, how is the business performance of CBTL and Smashburger? We request our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ernesto Tanmantiong, to answer the question.
Thank you for that question. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf had shown remarkable profit improvement in the past several months. This was in spite of the pandemic. When we acquired CBTL in September 2019, it was generating significant losses. By the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, I'm happy to mention that CBTL's losses were significantly down. It even generated a small amount of operating profit in the last two months of the first quarter of this year. This was one of the reasons why JFC's operating profit turned around from a loss in Q1 2020 to a profit in Q1 this year. We were able to achieve this turnaround in profit by significantly reducing the general and administrative expenses, particularly in the United States. This reduction was according to the plan formulated when we were in the process of acquiring CBTL in 2019.
The other main driver of the profit turnaround was the closure of non-profitable stores, mostly in the United States, which we implemented as part of our Business Transformation Program. Further, CBTL's business in Asia have recovered strongly from the pandemic, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, where CBTL has company-owned stores. CBTL's business outside the U.S. was profitable before the acquisition and had recovered its profitability from the pandemic. The focus of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf going forward is profitable growth through new store expansion and increase in sales of existing stores through better branding and marketing. In 2021, CBTL aims to increase its store network from 1,070 as of the end of last year to 1,100 stores by the end of this year. Most of the new store opening will take place in Singapore and Malaysia.
Next year, CBTL will focus on growing faster through franchising of new stores in the United States and outside the U.S. We expect CBTL to become a more important profit contributor to JFC in the years ahead. On Smashburger, we also achieved significant business improvement with significantly higher sales and lower operating losses. Same-store sales growth for the month of March 2021 for company-owned stores in the U.S. was up by 58.7% versus previous year and was up by 62% for traditional franchise stores versus year ago. Its first quarter operating loss became just a third of the operating loss for the same quarter last year.
Smashburger's new stores opened in 2020 and 2021 are generating sales 2-3x the average of other stores. It plans to open 25 new stores and renovate a substantial number of older stores in 2021. Smashburger's financial performance is expected to continue improving markedly in the months ahead towards profitability.
Thank you, Mr. Tanmantiong. For our question number two, how will minority shareholders benefit from the amendment to the articles of incorporation and approval of shelf registration and listing of preferred shares? We request our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Ysmael Baysa, to answer the question.
The amendment to the articles of incorporation will help drive our business growth for years to come. This will benefit both the majority and minority shareholders of JFC. On the amendments pertaining to the issuance of preferred shares, the issuance of preferred shares is part of our plan to make our balance sheet even stronger. As mentioned in the information and disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission, we will use most of the proceeds to buy back some of the US dollar perpetual bond, which we issued in January last year. Part of this plan is that we will also pay some of our loans by using some of our financial investments. Once we executed this plan, we expect that by December of this year, JFC will enjoy the following. First, we will have less debt with banks, less US dollar perpetual bond, and less interest expenses.
Number two, the maturities or when our remaining debts will become due or payment will be spread more evenly in the next few years, therefore, less financial pressure to JFC. Number three, we will have less foreign exchange risk as we will have less financial obligations in US dollars. Number four, JFC's credit standing will become even higher since we will have even stronger capability to pay all our financial obligations, and this will be indicated by better financial ratios. This means also that should we need to borrow money in the future, our interest rate will be less because our credit standing will be stronger. Meanwhile, we will have more capability to finance our expansion with capital expenditures for new stores and manufacturing facilities. This will mean we will sustain our profitable growth in the years ahead.
I also would like to emphasize that the issuance of preferred shares will not affect our cash dividend policy on our common shares. JFC will continue to be able to declare cash dividends equivalent to 33% of net income attributable to its equity holders. As you can see, these amendments are all beneficial to the business. These benefits will eventually go to the shareholders, both majority and minority shareholders, in terms of higher earnings per share, higher cash dividends per share, and higher stock prices.
Thank you, Mr. Baysa. For our question number three, what are your store expansion plans for 2021? What is your CapEx budget and will you be using your idle cash to fund this? We request our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ernesto Tanmantiong, to answer the question.
We are opening about 450 stores in 2021. Our capital expenditure budget for 2021 is PHP 12.2 billion, the highest in our history. This will be funded by internally generated funds and our financial investments, which came from the proceeds from our bonds issuance last year. The international business will drive our sales and profit growth with our continued expansion in China, Vietnam, and North America, led by Smashburger and our Philippine brands. We are also expecting The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Highlands Coffee to contribute significantly to this growth. With a positive outlook for China and U.S.A., given their earlier recovery from the pandemic, and with the Philippines recovery underway as restrictions are lifted and vaccinations roll out. We will accelerate our new store expansion in the months ahead.
In 2022, as the world returns to normalcy, we expect to open at least 500 stores, similar to how we were doing prior to the pandemic, and most likely even higher than 500 in the succeeding years. More importantly, our businesses outside the Philippines now contribute 40% to our global system-wide sales. We expect that in about three years' time, our business abroad will contribute at least 50% to our sales. Thus, we will reach our goal of 50/50 business split of Philippines and international by that time.
Thank you, Mr. Tanmantiong. For our question number four, how many employees volunteered to be given the COVID-19 vaccines? We request our Chairman of the Board, Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong, to answer the question.
Many of our employees have already been vaccinated through their respective local governments. For those who have yet to be vaccinated, the Jollibee Group has prepared to provide free vaccinations for our people, and likewise assist in providing access for their dependents at cost. We expect that close to 90% of our employees will be vaccinated. We at the Jollibee Group are one with our country's efforts in addressing the pandemic. With vaccination rates in the country increasing, we are encouraged and are confident that the Philippine economy's recovery can be well underway within 2021, and we'll be geared towards becoming even stronger in 2022.
Thank you, Mr. Tan Caktiong. That concludes our question and answer portion for this year's annual stockholders meeting. We request our Chairman of the Board to proceed with the last item in our agenda.
There being no other matters in the agenda, I hereby adjourn this meeting. Thank you for everyone's participation, and stay safe.