China Resources unit to sell Wal-Mart China store stakes for 3.3b yuan

A unit of conglomerate China Resources plans to sell minority stakes it holds in 21 Wal-Mart Stores outlets around mainland China, a spokesman for the US retailer said yesterday.

State-backed China Resources SZITIC Trust has listed its stakes in the stores as being for sale for a combined 3.3 billion yuan (HK$4 billion), according to official postings from the firm on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange.

The postings did not give a reason for selling the stakes in roughly 35 per cent of jointly owned outlets.

The sale comes as Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, and other largely brick and mortar retailers face intense competition on the mainland from fast-developing online rivals just as growth in the world’s second-largest economy cools.

Wal-Mart, France’s Carrefour and Britain’s Tesco have all seen sales growth slip over the past five years on the mainland, losing market share to local rivals, according to consumer analytics firm Kantar Worldpanel.

A China-based spokesman for Wal-Mart said the firm respected the “investment decision” of its partner, adding the sale should not impact on the retailer’s ongoing business in the market.