NTUC Fairprice closes stores

NTUC Fairprice closes stores

SINGAPORE (AP): Singapore's largest supermarket chain has
closed all seven outlets in neighboring Malaysia due to the
economic downturn and poor performance there, a newspaper
reported yesterday.

NTUC Fairprice, owned by Singapore's National Trade Union
Congress, established stores in Malaysia in 1994 under a joint
venture with Malaysia's Hong Leong Group.

From the start, it faced stiff competition from other
supermarket chains operating there, such as French-owned
Carrefour, The Sunday Times reported.

"It is due to the business downturn," chairman Chandra Das
said Saturday. "We were losing money, so we decided to cease
operations there."

It recently closed its solitary store in the Myanmar capital
Yangon, but continues to maintain a trading presence there.