Wal-Mart eyes acquisitions in China

CHICAGO, United States - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is open to potential acquisitions in China, the head of the retailer's Asia division said on Saturday, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer by sales, wants to build market share in Chinese cities where it is not already the No. 1 or No. 2 player, said Scott Price, chief executive of Wal-Mart's Asia division, according to the newspaper.

The retailer would consider deals with foreign companies, he said at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Bali, Indonesia, according to the report.

Asia is key to Wal-Mart's global expansion plans.

Wal-Mart in August said that international operating income fell 1.3 percent in the second quarter ended in late July. Comparable sales fell in Canada, Mexico, Japan and Britain, but they rose slightly in Brazil and China.

Wal-Mart's China division has revamped its compliance division and installed a new management team, Price said, according to the newspaper. Its online arm Yihaodian, in which Wal-Mart bought a 51 percent stake last year, has built up 24 million users, doubling from 2012, he said.