BEIJING, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will spend $1 billion to buy a Chinese hypermarket chain based in Taiwan, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The world's biggest discounter beat archrival Carrefour SA of France in the bidding for Trust-Mart and, assuming Beijing OKs the deal, will own more Chinese hypermarkets than Carrefour.
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Initially, Wal-Mart will buy 31 stores and then, over the following three years, Wal-Mart will acquire the remainder of Trust-Mart's 100 stores as each outlet meets various criteria, including fire code compliance.
Trust-Mart was founded by Taiwanese investors in 1997, has outlets in more than 20 Chinese provinces or districts and has about 30,000 employees.