British Tesco buys 20 percent stake in Chinese firm

(MENAFN) British supermarket giant Tesco has announced the signing of a joint venture with a Chinese firm to launch its largest multi-format retailer in China, according to Arab News. The company has combined its 131 branches and shopping mall operations in China with China Resources Enterprise's Vanguard business, which has 2,986 stores. London-listed Tesco has a 20-percent stake, while CRE, China's biggest food retail business, owns the remaining 80 percent of the venture. Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke said: "We're very pleased to have completed this historic agreement."