INDIA: Wal-Mart is planning to open 40 more cash & carries. Indian trade minister Anand Sharma said Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke wanted to expand faster than initially anticipated. Wal-Mart opened its first cash & carry in India in May, and set out plans to open up to 15 stores in three years.

"Wal-Mart gave me a figure of 40 more stores across the country in the immediate future, Sharma said this week at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi.

INDONESIA: Carrefour is fighting a ruling in Indonesia that would force the French retailer to sell a large stake in a local supermarket chain. Indonesian anti-monopoly commission KPPU said Carrefour had used its dominant market position to force suppliers to give it lower prices, breaking local laws. It ruled Carrefour must sell a 79.89% stake in Alfa Retailindo within a year and pay a fine of 25n rupiahs (£1.6m). Carrefour said it would fight the ruling.

"It is an incorrect ruling that does not match the data, testimonies and research," Carrefour lawyer Ignatius Andy told Reuters. "We will ask the district court to cancel the ruling."

RUSSIA: X5 Retail Group and Citibank have signed an agreement to launch a co-branded credit and debit card. The card will reward customers with loyalty points when shopping at X5's Perekrestok supermarkets, feeding into the already established Perekrestok Club loyalty program. The debit and credit cards will be launched in the first half of 2010.

"X5 Retail Group is the first food retailer in Russia to develop a unique loyalty program for its customers," said Lev Khasis, X5 chief executive. "Our joint project with Citibank will make our supermarkets even more attractive for customers."

AUSTRIA: Rewe Group is trialling a new Billa convenience format in Vienna before deciding whether to roll it out. The 'Billa box' store is just 1,500 sq ft and sells drinks, snacks and coffee. Volker Hornsteiner, chief executive of Billa, said he planned to open more Billa box stores across Austria if the three-month trial proved a success.