MANILA, Philippines ? Local fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. is building a new chain of casual dining restaurants specializing in coffee and Italian ice cream or gelato using a newly acquired master franchise for a popular Korean brand.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday, JFC said it had entered into a joint venture to acquire the master franchise in the Philippines for "Caffe Ti-Amo." The joint venture will be 50-percent owned by JFC and 50-percent by local entrepreneur Pamela Tan and her siblings.

The disclosure added that the joint venture partners were not related to the controlling shareholders of JFC.

The franchisor will be Caffe Ti-Amo Korea Co. Ltd., owner of the "Caffe Ti-Amo" trademarks based in the Republic of Korea. The Korean restaurant brand was established in 2006 and had grown its network to 269 stores to become a very successful chain in Korea, the disclosure said.

JFC said that together with its partners in the venture, initially capitalized at P10 million, it would develop and build a business around gelato and coffee.