Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, said it plans to open as many as 15 new stores in China next year, expanding in the world's fastest-growing economy as the government lifts curbs on foreign store operators.
Joe Hatfield, Wal-Mart's chief executive for Asia, gave the forecast in an interview before a press conference in Beijing.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart yesterday opened its 40th Chinese store in the central city of Wuhan.
Wal-Mart, Carrefour SA and other overseas companies are stepping up plans to open more stores in China as the government prepares to remove restrictions next month on the number, location and ownership of foreign retail outlets.
China is easing rules to meet WTO pledges, widening access to a market where retail sales are growing at a 14 percent annual rate. From Dec. 11, China will let overseas retailers open outlets in any city in the country.
The US retailer, which has stores in 20 Chinese cities, has invested as much as 1.6 billion yuan (US$193 billion) in the country, the company said in a release. Wal-Mart plans to have 43 outlets in China by the end of this year, spokeswoman Amy Wyatt said in August.
Germany's Metro Group, the world's fourth-largest retailer, plans to increase the number of its stores in China by more than half before the end of next year as the nation opens up its retail industry.
The Dusseldorf-based company plans to add two stores in China by the end of this year and another 10 next year, Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Koerber said in a statement.
Metro has 21 Cash & Carry stores in China, hiring more than 5,100 people and serving 2 million customers. The company plans to have more than 50 stores in the country in three to five years time.
"China is the center of our Asian expansion," said Koerber. "In mid-term, Metro Cash & Carry wants to generate 10 percent of its total sales in Asia."
France's Carrefour, the largest overseas retailer in China, aims to open as many as 15 superstores a year in the country, its largest and fastest-growing Asian market, Philippe Jarry, regional manager for Asia, said in a May newsletter to shareholders.
Average disposable income in China's urban areas, home to a third of the nation's 1.3 billion people, rose 40 percent from 1999 to last year, topping US$1,000 for the first time last year, government statistics show.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned