Britain's largest retailer Tesco plans shortly to open its first Express convenience store in China as part of its international expansion plans to offset slowing growth in its British food business.
'We don't have a firm opening date, but yes we are planning to open our first Express store in Shanghai shortly,' said a spokeswoman for the company, adding that the retailer already operates 46 hypermarkets in China.
Tesco, the world's third largest food retailer after Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour, has targeted countries such as China, the US and Turkey to spearhead its international expansion.
On Friday, Tesco - which operates in 13 countries - said it planned to invest $1.5 billion over the next five years in Turkey as it sets up 100 stores in the fast-growing economy.
Last year Tesco launched its US venture Fresh & Easy with plans to invest £250m a year over five years.
Earlier this month, the retailer showed it was not immune to UK consumer caution when it reported a slowdown in core sales at home while international growth surged.
Underlying sales at Tesco's UK stores open more than a year rose 3.1% in the six weeks to January 5, slowing from 4.1% growth in the third quarter, while international sales jumped by 26.9%.
