Wal-Mart plans 100 new stores in China

US retail giant Wal-Mart plans to open more than 100 new stores in China over the next three years, Xinhua reported Thursday.

Raymond Bracy, Wal-Mart China's senior vice president of corporate affairs, said the new stores will create about 18,000 jobs.

The company is also planning more logistics facilities and Sam's Club stores, a kind of warehouse shopping club with a membership system.

Speaking at the opening of a store in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou province, Bracy said Wal-Mart was very optimistic about the growth of the Chinese market.

Since its entry into China in 1996, Wal-Mart has opened 384 stores in 147 cities and partnered with nearly 20,000 local suppliers. - IANS