CAPE TOWN, June 13 (Reuters) – A planned 100 million rand
($12 million) fund from Wal-Mart and Massmart
to help South African suppliers source more goods locally should
be increased to at least 500 million rand, a
regulator-affiliated panel said.
The majority decision released this week from an expert
panel advising the Competition Appeal Court could put pressure
on the retailers to boost funding but will not alter the deal.
Wal-Mart last year spent $2.4 billion on a majority stake in
South Africa’s Massmart, raising concerns of labour and
left-leaning forces in the government that union jobs could be
lost while a flood of cheap Asian would come into the country.
A South African court in March largely dismissed an appeal
from government and unions to roll back approval of the
acquisition, ending months of uncertainty about the status of
the deal that could pave the way for the world’s largest
retailer to gain a foothold into fast-expanding Africa.
($1 = 8.3638 South African rand)
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)
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