KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: French supermarket giant Carrefour has denied that its stores in Malaysia and Singapore will close following reports that it would shut down its Southeast Asian outlets.
On Tuesday, 6 July 2010, produce industry website Fruit Net said the supermarket chain planned to sell its interests in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in a deal worth up to US$1.0 billion.
"Carrefour Malaysia and Singapore denies any store closure in Malaysia and in Singapore, reminding that it is business as usual for every store," the company said in a statement late on Wednesday.
"In 2010 itself, four Carrefour hypermarkets have been newly opened in Malaysia and another four additional hypermarkets are slated to be opened by year end."
According to the company's website, it has 22 stores in Malaysia, two in Singapore and 40 in Thailand.
It said Asia accounted for 7.6% of its total net sales of €85.96 billion ($108.25 billion) in 2009, compared to 13.7% for Latin America and 35.7% for Europe excluding France.
Source: AFP