Wal-Mart said to buy chain in China

NEW YORK --Wal-Mart Stores Inc., facing slowing growth in the United States, agreed to buy Trust-Mart, a chain of food and department superstores operating in China, for about $1 billion, a person familiar with the proposed acquisition said yesterday.

The deal to acquire the Taiwan-based retailer must still be approved by Chinese regulators and may not be disclosed for weeks, said the person, who declined to be identified before any official statement. Trust-Mart spokesman Huang Shiying confirmed the company is in talks with Wal-Mart and other overseas companies, adding that no buyer or price has been decided.

Wal-Mart's planned acquisition comes after the company's sale of its German stores in July at a loss of $1 billion and its exit from South Korea in May. The world's largest retailer is counting on international growth to counteract slowing US sales and wants to generate 33 percent of its revenue and profit overseas, up from 20 percent currently.

``This will give them more scale in a market that is going to be increasingly more important for them," said Patricia Edwards, a Seattle-based money manager at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich.

Wal-Mart initially will purchase 31 stores from Trust-Mart and gradually increase its holdings, giving it a bigger foothold in China than French rival Carrefour SA, said the Wall Street Journal, which reported the proposed deal earlier yesterday.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Beth Keck declined to comment.

Wal-Mart already operates more than 60 stores in China and has said it plans to open 20 more this year.