US retail giant Wal-Mart has said it plans to open at least ten new outlets in China next year, adding to the 43 stores it aims to have there by the end of this year.
Next month, new rules in China will allow foreign retail chains to expand into smaller cities, reported Reuters. German retail giant Metro has also said this week it plans to open ten more stores in China next year.
France’s Carrefour, meanwhile, said it is launching its Champion discount chain in China and plans to operate between ten and 15 outlets by 2005. This is in addition to the 53 hypermarkets it already operates in China.
“We really are very happy with the progress we have made in China over the last year,” Wal-Mart China president Cassian Cheung was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Joe Hatfield, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia, added that the company had visited many provincial cities over the last three to four months in preparation for approval from Beijing.
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