India's Bharti linked with Carrefour in new retail tie-up
New Delhi (AFP) - Indian mobile giant Bharti said Friday it was scouting for a new partner to replace Walmart in a retail joint venture with reports saying it was in talks with France's Carrefour and Japan's AEON.
The new partner would replace Walmart, the world's biggest retailer, with which Bharti had a strategic alliance that fell apart last October.
"There are talks (for a new venture) but nothing is completed until the last dot is signed," a Bharti source told AFP.
Nothing will be decided until after general elections conclude in May in case there is a change in policy, the source added.
A Bharti spokesman declined to comment on media reports that the group, controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal, was in talks with Carrefour SA, the world's second-largest retailer and Japan's biggest retailer, AEON Co Ltd.
Discussions with Carrefour were at an advanced stage but were put on hold due to AEON's interest in an alliance, India's Economic Times newspaper said.
"Some of the senior officials of Bharti Retail are in favour of tying up with the French major as it has an existing footprint in India's cash-and-carry space that would be a perfect match for Bharti Retail," the Economic Times quoted a source close to the negotiations as saying.
Carrefour, which has five wholesale stores in India, would fold them into a joint venture with Bharti if it emerges as the company's retail partner.
The Economic Times quoted an AEON spokesman as saying "we will not be able to disclose or comment." Carrefour also declined to comment.
Aside from its mobile phone empire Bharti Airtel, Bharti also runs 212 Easy Day convenience stores.
Opinion polls suggest that forthcoming elections will be won by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which strongly opposed the entry of foreign supermarkets into India while in opposition.
However, recently the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi raised speculation about a change of heart when he said small retailers must learn to cope with bigger rivals.
Foreign players such as Carrefour, Britain's Tesco and Walmart have been eyeing India's $500-billion retail market since the government relaxed investment rules in 2012.
Walmart, which has its own wholesale operation in India, pulled out of the Bharti tie-up amid an internal bribery probe and worries over the country's still evolving retail landscape.
