Tesco moves into Chinese market

British supermarket Tesco said last night it is making its first foray into the burgeoning Chinese market in a joint venture with hypermarket owner Ting Hsin.

Tesco will buy 50% of Taiwan-based Ting Hsin International Group’s Ting Cao unit for £140 million (€210 million).

Ting Cao owns 25 Hymall stores across China’s eastern, northern, and northeastern regions and plans to open up to 10 more stores this year.

Tesco employs more than 300,000 people world-wide, and already operates in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan.

Unlike its international competitors Wal-Mart and France’s Carrefour, it hasn’t yet entered China, where foreign retailers must by law work with a Chinese partner.

These rules will change in December, but a Tesco spokesperson said the company plans to continue working with Ting Hsin next year.