Britain's biggest retailer Tesco has completed its exit from China with a 275 million pound (HK$2.78 billion) sale of its joint venture stake to state-run partner China Resources.
Having struggled to crack the Chinese market, Tesco established the Gain Land venture with China Resources in 2014, combining the British group's 131 stores in China with its partner's almost 3,000.
The disposal of its 20 percent stake allows Tesco to further simplify and focus the business on core operations, it said yesterday, adding that the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
The deal is scheduled to be completed on February 28.
After costly exits from Japan and the United States and the sale of its South Korean business, Tesco signaled in December a further retreat from its once lofty global ambitions by starting a review of its operations in Thailand and Malaysia - its last remaining wholly-owned businesses in Asia.
The Asian exit could be one of the last acts of CEO Dave Lewis, who will be succeeded by Ken Murphy in October.
Meanwhile, New World Department Store China (0825), the retail arm of New World Development (0017), said net profit for the six months ended December 31 surged 58.8 percent year-on-year to HK$142.4 million, but same-store sales growth for the period was negative 12.4 percent.
