Tesco has played down reports that its progress in Thailand could be stymied by government restrictions on store opening hours and pricing policies. A spokesman confirmed Tesco and other foreign retailers had met deputy commerce minister Newin Chidchob this week, but said the talks were "part of an ongoing dialogue to provide support for SMEs. "There was a whole range of issues on the agenda, such as our buying prawns direct from farmers and opening up space in our car parks for local traders,"he added. "No decisions were taken on hours or pricing." However, there will be further meetings in June to discuss pricing policies. Government attempts to counter the growth of the multinationals through complicated zoning laws in the capital have not thwarted Tesco's progress to date, he added. Tesco already has planning permission for most of the stores it wants to build in Thailand for the next couple of years. The next project in Thailand is a new value store, he revealed. {{NEWS }}

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