WAL-MART STORES said yesterday it is taking a controlling stake in Chinese e-commerce firm Yihaodian.

The world’s largest retailer seeks new revenue sources to fend off rising competition in the world’s fastest-growing economy.

The move comes two weeks after Wal-Mart announced the appointment of industry veteran Greg Foran as head of its China operations, capping a series of leadership changes at the unit, which has been tainted by food scandals, including a pork mislabelling issue last year that forced it to briefly shut stores in China.

Wal-Mart said in a statement that the fresh investment into Yihaodian will take its stake to around 51 per cent and will be subject to government regulatory approval. Wal-Mart did not provide any financial details of the deal and it was not immediately clear how much stake it has now in the China firm.

“E-commerce has been booming for years in China and in many other sectors, and it has only been very recently that it is for supermarket type of goods,” said James Roy, senior analyst from Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. – (Reuters)