Tesco to go slow on India operations.

The UK's leading retail chain Tesco is likely to go slow on expansion in India, after the record $9-billion annual loss it announced last week. The retailer, which has in the recent past exited many countries, including the US and Japan, might still hold on to India as these still are its early days.

Last year, the company had announced an investment of $110 million (Rs. 850 crore at the time) in India. It was the first international group to enter the country's multi-brand retail space after the government permitted 51 per cent foreign investment in the sector.

Asked whether it would review its India plans and exit the country following the group's record global loss, a spokesperson for Tesco told Business Standard: 'Our position on India is longstanding and remains unchanged.' On whether the chain would go slow in India, the spokesperson did not offer any further comment. Sources, however, pointed out that Tesco was unlikely to put more money in the country in the near term.

BS