Asia's fried-chicken king takes $2 bn hit in market value with US gamble

Fueled by concerns the spread of the disease will weigh on consumer spending, Jollibee shares have dived more than 18% this year, adding to losses in 2019, their worst in two decades.

If 2019 was a bad year for Tony Tan Caktiong, the Philippine tycoon who built a fast-food empire that trounced McDonald’s in his home market, 2020 is shaping out to be worse for his company’s stock.

After wooing millions of Filipinos for decades with its signature fried chicken, Tan’s Jollibee Foods Corp. set out on an expansion in the U.S., spending $540 million buying Smashburger and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Co. Even as the two money-losing chains turn out to be a drag on earnings, the coronavirus is now threatening to hit its sales.

Fueled by concerns the spread