Carrefour set to buy back stake in Harbin

Carrefour China Holdings BV, a subsidiary of international retailer Carrefour SA, is set to buy the stake held by Harbin Electric Company Ltd, which controls 18 percent of the Carrefour supermarket in Harbin, according to the property trading center in Heilongjiang province, reported China Business News (Shanghai).

The holding is priced at 45.1 million yuan ($7.35 million). Carrefour China Holdings BV is the largest shareholder in Carrefour in the city, with a 65 percent holding.

Observers see the move as part of Carrefour's strategy to realize sole ownership of the supermarket chain’s branches in China.

The newspaper quoted an employee with the property trading center as saying that Carrefour had been planning to expand its assets in Harbin and open more outlets.

In 2012, Carrefour in Harbin had an operating income of 13.5 billion yuan, 26.5 million yuan in operating profits, and 6.7 million yuan in net profits.

Carrefour has around 220 stores in China, about 50 percent of which are wholly owned by the French retailer.