India moves closer to opening up supermarket sector (Wal-Mart and other retailers)

Reuters India ^ | November 23, 2011 | Matthias Williams, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Manoj Kumar

[2ndDivisionVet]

NEW DELHI-India could decide this week to throw open its supermarket sector to foreign firms such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, clearing one of the most hotly anticipated economic reforms of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's tenure.

Policymakers have for years talked about opening multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investors, a policy aimed at attracting foreign capital, unclogging supply bottlenecks and helping tackle stubbornly high inflation.

But the move has snagged on protests by opposition parties and many domestic retailers, who say an influx of foreign players will drive down prices and cause huge job losses. Some voices within the ruling Congress party have opposed the reform.

India, with its growing $1.6 trillion economy, is seen as one of the last frontiers for a massive and modern supermarket sector aimed at hundreds of millions of middle class consumers who still shop in neighbourhood mom-and-pop stores.

The cabinet will discuss opening the sector to a foreign investment cap of 51 percent on Thursday, although it may not take a final decision.

"The policy on FDI in retail is on the cabinet agenda," Neelam Kapur, spokeswoman for the government, told Reuters on Wednesday.

India currently allows 51 percent foreign investment in single-brand retailers and 100 percent for wholesale operations,

a policy that the world's top retailer Wal-Mart and Carrefour among others have lobbied to free up further.

A group of senior civil servants approved the proposal to open the multi-brand sector to foreign players in July, although it recommended strict local sourcing requirements and minimum investment levels....

[Bryanw92]

Capitalism thrives in China and India, but in the US, protesters call for it’s death while banks and government drive a stake through it’s heart.

[cloudmountain]

Well, we KNOW that ONE brand of supermarket freezer has been well tested for preserving meat. I hope India uses THAT brand of freezer for its need-to-freeze groceries.

Aren't I just awful?

[cloudmountain]

America: Freedom to occupy and protest by some of our countries most spoiled, useless souls. Capitalism gave them the financial opportunity to do this. Our ethics give them the "right." It's a shining example of our tolerance. Question: when does tolerance turn into unacceptable passiveness?

I LOVED a couple of signs that the Wall Street guys carried when their office entrances were blocked: GET A JOB.