Speculation continues to circulate about the sale of Carrefour’s Malaysian business, with one of the country’s ministers now saying the company wants to sell its South East Asian concerns and consolidate in the Indian market.
“We heard that Carrefour is considering divesting,” Malaysia’s deputy trade minister Mukhriz Mahathir told the AFP earlier this week.
“It is for the purpose of rationalisation of their overseas business. They want to sell their business `in Malaysia`. Other hypermarkets are keen to take over.”
Carrefour has 23 stores in Malaysia, a market that is reportedly still profitable, but highly competitive.
Despite the persistent rumours of a South East Asian sale, Carrefour has still declined to comment on the issue.
“The news has been around for some time,” said Yeah Kim Leng, group chief economist with financial research firm RAM Holdings.
“It is an open secret that Carrefour wants to pull out from Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. They have put feelers out to the industry on their plan.
“It is not surprising for them to move to India. The middle class segment is a large expanding group.”
Carrefour has reportedly prices their Malaysian operations at US$1bn. Potential buyers include British retail chain Tesco, Japan’s Jusco or Dairy Farm-owned retailer Giant.
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