Wal-Mart weighs bid for Li’s Hong Kong supermarket chain: sources

Wal-Mart Stores is considering making a bid for the Hong Kong supermarket business being sold by a company controlled by Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Li’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd conglomerate has set an Aug. 16 deadline for initial bids for ParknShop, which it values at as much as US$4 billion, sparking interest from corporate and private equity buyers.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is working with a bank as it weighs its options for ParknShop ahead of next week’s preliminary bid deadline, the people said.

Wal-Mart declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified because the discussions are confidential.

Last year, Wal-Mart announced plans to open 100 new stores in China over the next three years and create 18,000 jobs in an effort to boost its mainland China business. Wal-Mart opened its first China store in 1996 and now operates over 380 stores spread across various formats, including Super centres, Sam’s Clubs and Neighborhood Markets.

But foreign retailers such as Wal-Mart have found it challenging to manage growth in China. Sun Art Retail Group Ltd , a joint venture between Taiwan conglomerate Ruentex Group and privately held by French retailer Groupe Auchan SA , is China’s largest hypermarket chain.