Bharti Walmart to raise Rs 500 crore

Bharti Walmart, a joint venture (JV) between Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises and the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, plans to raise Rs 500 crore from global banking majors such as Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, to fund its expansion plans. The brand had earlier disclosed its plans to set up 10-12 wholesale cash and carry centres in 2012, which would generate employment for 5,000 people and each such centre requires an investment of Rs 50-60 crore. At present, Bharti Walmart has 17 stores across the country. Germany’s Metro, French company Carrefour and UK’s Booker are the major players in the Indian cash and carry market, besides Bharti Walmart.