India's Bharti group in talks with UK's Tesco to set up JV -...

India's Bharti group in talks with UK's Tesco to set up JV - report
03.15.2006, 11:35 PM

BOMBAY (AFX) - The Bharti group has begun talks with UK's Tesco PLC to set up a joint venture to enter the food retail sector in India, Business standard reported, citing a source close to the development.

The Sunil Mittal-controlled group, which runs the country's largest private telecom firm Bharti Tele-Ventures, has set up an internal team to finalise the rollout of the venture, which will see an initial investment of around 60 bln rupees, the newspaper said.

It said that Bharti will enter food retail with the conventional model of setting up a chain of supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores.

With the government permitting foreign direct investment in retail, Tesco might pick up as much as 49 pct in the joint venture, the report said.

A Bharti spokesperson was quoted as saying the company 'is exploring opportunity in food retail. For now, we are evaluating various options.'

A Tesco spokesperson told the newspaper that 'the company doesn't comment on speculation.'