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Korea¡¯s third-largest superstore chain Lotte Mart is pushing into Vietnam with hopes of opening its first outlet in Ho Chi Minh City in 2008, the company said Sunday. Lotte Mart signed a joint venture contract with Minh Van Manufacture Trade Private Enterprise there to operate superstores there in December last year. It will own 80 percent of Lotte Vietnam Shopping by investing US$15 million this year.
Lotte Mart chose Vietnam as its first overseas investment because the market is fast expanding with an economy growing over 7 percent a year on average. Compared to its rapid economic growth, the nation's retail market lags behind, with global retail giants like Walmart or Carrefour unable to enter the country, whose market is not fully open to foreign companies. Vietnam has approved only a handful of selected foreign retailers, with Germany¡¯s Metro and France¡¯s Big-C operating five or six stores each. Lotte Mart wants to open 15-20 superstores in the Southeast Asian nation.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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