Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is looking to increase its present in China after agreeing to buy a 35% stake in discount store chain Trust-Mart. The terms of the deal were not made public, however it is thought that Wal-Mart will hold an interest in 100 stores in 34 Chinese cities, a business reputed to be worth $1bn. Should Wal-Mart ultimately buy out the group, it would make it China's largest foreign retailer in terms of stores. Foreign sales currently account for about 20% of the firm's turnover.

Based in Taiwan, Trust-Mart was set up in the mid-1990s and has more than 30,000 staff. Along with other leading global retailers like Carrefour and Tesco, Wal-Mart is looking to build its interests in China's fast-growing retail sector. The firm already operates 68 stores there and said last year that it was prepared to hire an extra 150,000 staff in the next five years.

As was reported by the BBC, Wal-Mart stated the latest deal was an "important step" for the business." Through this investment in Trust-Mart we have the opportunity to expand our presence in China, one of the world's fastest growing markets," said Michael Duke, Wal-Mart's vice-chairman.

Wal-Mart said the two companies would, for the time being, operate independently but that if "certain conditions" were met, it could buy out the remainder of the business by 2010. Wal-Mart's efforts to expand outside the US have not proved an unqualified success, raising questions about whether its retail formula can be replicated elsewhere. The firm pulled out of Germany and South Korea after struggling in those markets, while its Japanese subsidiary Seiyu has made heavy losses. China's retail sector was worth nearly $850bn in 2005 and is forecast to grow to more than $2 trillion by 2020.