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.