Aeon Co keen to buy Tesco Malaysia valued at RM5.32bil

Largest retailer: A worker stacks shelves at an Aeon store in Kuala Lumpur. Japan’s Aeon also owns 51.7 of Aeon Co (M) Bhd, which has 29 outlets and four MaxValu supermarkets in Malaysia. –Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Japan’s Aeon Co Ltd is interested in buying the Malaysian operations of Britain’s Tesco PLC, valued at US$1.4bil (RM5.32bil), people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Japan’s largest retailer has been venturing into South-East Asia where purchasing power is rising in fast-growing economies.