Japan-based convenience store operator Lawson plans to acquire Chinese retail chains to increase its stores in China to about 5,000 by 2015, president Takeshi Niinami said in an interview with Kyodo News. Lawson has so far opened about 340 convenience stores in Shanghai, Chongqing and Dalian.

Niinami also said that although owners of small family-run shops in India were opposing the removal of restrictions on foreign investment, Lawson still aimed to expand into the country this year.