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Japanese retailer Aeon is poised to buy France-based Carrefour's Malaysian business for some ¥20bn (US$250m) as part of its push into South East Asia, Reuters reports.

The deal, which is expected to be completed by next week (29 October-2 November), will make Aeon, Japan's number one supermarket operator, one of the biggest retailers in Malaysia, local media said.

Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer, has been struggling to cut debt and fund the revival of its struggling European hypermarkets, according to Reuters.

The company said in August it would shut its two stores in Singapore by the end of this year.Carrefour made the announcement two years after it unsuccessfully tried to sell its operations in Singapore and Malaysia.

Aeon, which has overseas operations in mainland China, Hong Kong and Thailand, plans to open stores in Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia, the report said.