Retailer denied entry to West Bengal
US retail giant Wal-Mart has been banned from setting up stores in India's West Bengal, the Communist Party of India (CPM) Central Committee has ruled.

The party's decision puts an end to speculation that the retail chain will enter any of the CPM-ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

A central committee spokesman said: 'Expansion of Wal-Mart retail chains has led to the closure of small stores and affected poor communities in the United States.

'Given the scale of unemployment in West Bengal and the rest of the country, this is something we can avoid. There is the need for a strong regulatory framework to protect the domestic retail sector.'

Wal-Mart officials had previously met with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, seeking his help to establish retail operations in Bengal, but he has refused to give the go-ahead.

The central committee also opposed the deal between Wal-Mart and Bharti Enterprises, believing it was a back-door entry for direct foreign investment in retail trade.

At present, multi-brand foreign retailers are unable to open in India without a local partner.

The Indian retail industry is worth about US$300 billion (£154.93 billion) and is forecast to grow to US$427 billion (£220.54 billion) by 2010 and US$637 billion (£328.98 billion) by 2015, according to consultancy Technopak.

At present, organised retail only makes up 3 per cent of the Indian market, compared with 20 per cent of China's market and 40 per cent of Thailand's.

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