ALJAZEERA …Walmart and its joint venture partner “have stopped expanding,” said a retail analyst who closely tracks developments in the market. “Business was doing okay – they had started to do reasonably well. All the issues they are facing are more at an internal audit level.”
Walmart stopped opening new stores in India after the government said it was investigating whether the US retailer violated a previous ban on foreign ownership of grocery stores by providing a $100m loan, through a compulsorily convertible debenture, to a Bharti holding company for the EasyDay business. Under that deal, Walmart could convert the debt into equity once India allowed foreign ownership of front-end retail businesses. Critics called the transaction clandestine and illegal direct investment in the retail company.
Walmart is also investigating whether company executives in India violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying local government officials to secure permission to open stores, part of a widening internal audit of bribery allegations that first surfaced in Mexico… (more)
