UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced plans to build 18 new hypermarkets in China by February, in partnership with Asian investors.
The company plans to build shopping malls in the north-eastern Chinese cities of Anshan, Fushan and Qinhuangdao, with each centre containing a Tesco hypermarket.
Oriel Securities Analyst Jonathan Pritchard told Bloomberg.com that Tesco was likely to open 20-30 hypermarkets a year. The retailer currently has 65 supermarkets and six small stores in China.
Investors such as HSBC Nan Fung China Real Estate Fund, Singapore’s Metro Holdings and Hong Kong’s Nan Fung Group will back the venture, with Tesco investing about US$167m.
Despite global trends, China’s retail sector is booming, with sales for October jumping 16.2 per cent compared with the same month last year.
Tesco’s Asian sales were up 27 per cent in the first half of this year to US$7.3bn.
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