Seoul, March 28 - Carrefour could pick preferred bidders for its South Korean outlets in early April, with local rival Lotte Shopping and Tesco Co seen as front-runners, a newspaper reported in its Wednesday edition.
The Korea Economic Daily, a South Korean business newspaper, quoted an unnamed Carrefour official as saying the French retail giant planned to select preferred bidders next month.
"We plan to pick plural preferred bidders early next month when interested parties submit proposals including overall conditions for the bid," the paper quoted the Carrefour official as saying.
"We also plan to decide the final bidder after the preferred bidders propose bidding prices for the second time, but we have not decided how many preferred bidders we pick and when we sign a final deal."
Carrefour officials were not immediately available for comment.
Analysts estimate the Carrefour outlets in South Korea could be worth 1.8 trillion won ($1.85 billion), equivalent to its estimated 2005 revenue in the country.
Local retailer Lotte Shopping Co. Ltd., Shinsegae and Hyundai Department Store Co. Ltd., as well as Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer and Samsung Tesco, have confirmed or are reported to be interested in buying the stores.
Samsung Tesco is 89-percent owned by British grocery giant Tesco and owns discounter Home-plus.
The Carrefour sales process has deepened speculation about a shake-up in South Korea's $120 billion retail industry, as stiff competition erodes margins in the sector.
Analysts believe that Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer, is committed to selling all its stores in South Korea because of their relative underperformance against domestic rivals, and after its withdrawal from Japan last year.
Its aggressive expansion plan in China may also lead Carrefour to exit South Korea, industry sources say.
In South Korea's discount sector, Carrefour lags Shinsegae's E-Mart, Samsung Tesco's Home-plus and Lotte Shopping in sales. ($1=975.4 Won)