France's Casino Group announced plans on December 15 to sell its Big C supermarket chain in Vietnam to cut its debts by more than USD2.2 billion next year.
In a statement on Tuesday, Casino, the majority shareholder in Big C supermarkets, will also sell some of its real estate in Thailand and Colombia, according to the Bangkok Post.
With 32 Big C outlets nationwide, including eight in HCM City, Big C ranks second among retailers in Vietnam after Co.op Mart. The sale of the Vietnam business could raise USD813.86 million for the firm, meanwhile, the value for Thailand and Colombia market is USD596.8 million and USD216.98 million respectively, Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, told Bloomberg news.
The Casino Group is also the second European retailer to announce plans to sell its Vietnamese business, following Germany’s Metro Group which announced in August last year to sell its Vietnamese cash-and-carry unit to Thailand’s Berli Jucker at USD879 million.
Casino Group said it will continue to focus on its key markets in France, Latin America and Asia after selling its assets in Vietnam, Thailand and Colombia.
Big C owns almost 800,000 square metres of gross leasable area in its shopping malls located in prime locations in Thailand and over 300,000 square metres in Colombia.
