| Friday, November 09, 2001, updated at 17:09(GMT+8) |
Carrefour to Resume Expansion in China |
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Carrefour, the largest French supermarket chain, will today sign an agreement with the Chinese State Economic and Trade Commission for allowing it to resume supermarket openings after a six-month suspension.
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Carrefour, the largest French supermarket chain, will today sign an agreement with the Chinese State Economic and Trade Commission for allowing it to resume supermarket openings after a six-month suspension.
The deal, concluded prior to China's entry into the World Trade Organization, came no more than 48 hours after Wal-Mart, the US retailer, won approval to open its first five supermarkets in Beijing.
Carrefour has already opened 27 supermarkets in China since 1995, including four in Beijing and six in Shanghai. But it was obliged to suspend store developments in China after the Chinese government demanded a legal reorganization of its holdings.
The existing stores were opened after Carrefour concluded individually joint venture agreements with local partners and authorities for each store. But the new legal framework in the program, negotiated at provincial or city level, has paved the way for an accelerated and eastward expansion.
"The new framework is in total conformity with the relevant regulations of the Chinese government," said Daniel Bernard, Carrefour's chief executive.
Barring any new problems, Mr. Bernard said Carrefour now hoped to open about 10 supermarkets a year in China and establish around 10 purchasing organizations in China procuring goods for sales overseas.
By PD Online Staff Huang Ying
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