Retail opening to foreign companies16 Sep 2012 19:09
India’s government approved plans to allow foreign retailers to open outlets that sell more than one brand, opening up a $505 billion market to such companies as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Carrefour SA. (CA)
The government said yesterday that overseas companies must put half of their investment in infrastructure such as processing, manufacturing, storage, warehouses and packaging.
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India’s government approved plans to allow foreign retailers to open outlets that sell more than one brand, opening up a $505 billion market to such companies as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Carrefour SA. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg
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“India is a big opportunity, of that there is no doubt,” Arun Kejriwal, director of advisory firm Kejriwal Research & Investment Services Pvt. said by phone. “We have the world’s second-largest population, we have a fairly large middle class, so we become an attractive destination for any sort of organized retailing.”