British retailer Tesco and France's Carrefour have agreed a store swap deal that will see both exit countries in which they have low market shares to boost positions of strength elsewhere.
Under the deal, Tesco will hand over six stores and two sites in Taiwan and pay €57.4m. In exchange, it will get Carrefour's 11 stores in the Czech Republic and four outlets in Slovakia.
Taiwan has long been one of the few black spots for fast-growing Tesco, with the supermarket group struggling to make headway in a market dominated by rivals including Carrefour.
Finance Director Andrew Higginson said Tesco remained committed to expanding elsewhere in Asia. Britain's top retailer has shops in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and China. Carrefour, the world's second largest retailer, has also been cutting back in markets where it does not have a dominant position.
