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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Aug. 6 At the announcement of the joint venture with Bharti Enterprises for the wholesale cash ’n carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India and a franchise agreement with Bharti Retail, Ms Beth Keck, Wal-Mart’s Senior Director, International Corporate Affairs, spoke to Business Line on some of the contentious issues that may arise out of the partnership.

There is opposition building up to Wal-Mart’s entry into India. How do you plan to deal with it?

We have come in through the legal route available to us. We are available for open dialogue and are ready to share with anyone who wants to know how we approach our business.

Land acquisition issues for projects have been coming up in India. The cash ’n carry stores may need substantial land space. How have you planned the acquisitions for the 10 to 15 stores you intend to start in the coming years?

The joint venture will be looking at appropriate sites and they could be of different sizes according to what we get. The options are open, we could buy or lease land.

In case you face any obstructions to your activities in the country, what is your plan of action then?

India has an open system. We would anticipate a fair review. Our approach is to be fully complaint, within the bounds of law as we are in other parts of the globe.

What sort of employment numbers are you looking at and how many expats would be working here?

We expect to have over 500 staffers from India and a handful of expats who have special expertise in supply chain and logistics going forward.

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