Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd is exploring options to expand in Southern India. The company, which has presence across the Vindhyas in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, is keen to enter Karnataka.
The Bharti Walmart Vice-Chairman, Mr Rajan Bharti Mittal, met the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr D. V. Sadananda Gowda, on Thursday to explore investment options. Details were not available.
The Karnataka Chief Minister held a road show in New Delhi on Wednesday seeking investments for the forthcoming Global Investors Meet (GIM) scheduled for June 7 and 8. Besides, Bharti Walmart, 30 other American companies including Cisco and Shell met Mr Gowda on Thursday.
“An American delegation had called on the Chief Minister and we were also a part of it. We are looking to foray into various geographies in India,” a Bharti Walmart spokesperson said, when contacted.
Bharti Walmart's move to explore investment options comes at a time when German retail chain Metro Cash and Carry has expanded its presence in Northern India in Delhi, where it opened an outlet recently.
The French retailer Carrefour is planning an entry into Agra and Meerut. Metro has been operating two stores in Bangalore for several years now.
Bharti Walmart already has stores in Guntur and Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh, while Carrefour is yet to make its Southern debut. Bharti Walmart is the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart Stores Inc for wholesale, business-to-business and cash-and-carry operations in India. It has 17 stores in India. Mr Raj Jain, Managing Director, recently said Bharti Walmart is planning to open 10-12 stores in 2012.
GIM 2012
Karnataka is looking to attract an investment of Rs 6 lakh crore in the GIM this year, said Industry Minister Mr Murugesh Nirani. The previous edition of the investors meet in 2010 generated investment commitments of some Rs 3.92 lakh crore. About 36 investment proposals have taken off and were in various stages of implementation, while another 250 were in the pipeline, he said.
The thrust this year is on attracting investments in sectors such as gems and jewellery, tourism, textiles among others, Mr Nirani said.