FRANKFURT: World No.4 retailer Metro said India's decision to open up its supermarket sector for foreign players did not mean it would seek to introduce its Real brand to the country.
The Indian government threw open its $450 billion retail market to global supermarket giants on Thursday, approving its biggest reform in years that may boost sorely needed investment in Asia's third-largest economy.
Foreign players are already allowed to operate wholesale, or cash & carry, stores.
"The focus is on cash & carry and we have no plans to enter the Indian market with Real or MediaMarkt Saturn," a Metro spokesman said on Thursday, referring to its hypermarket and consumer electronics chains.
The opening up of the market is likely to be of more interest to Metro rivals Wal-Mart and Carrefour The German company has already classed its Real business as non-core and has said it would sell it if the right offer came up.
Metro's Cash & Carry unit entered the Indian market in 2003 and currently has eight stores there, after opening two in Punjab and Mumbai this year.
A spokeswoman for the unit said Metro aimed to open at least five new cash & carry stores in the country a year. "We want to keep up expansion pace and further invest in our Cash & Carry business in India," she said.
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