PTT, the Thai energy company, revealed on Wednesday it had withdrawn its bid for Carrefour assets in the country.
A spokeswoman for PTT told the New York Times the company had decided to drop the bid as Thailand's constitution discouraged state-run companies, such as PPT, from competing with private enterprise.
There has been fierce competition for Carrefour’s assets in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore as the French retailer looks to pull out of those countries to focus on other Asian markets it has identified as having greater growth potential.
Carrefour has 40 stores in Thailand valued at US$600m, reports The Financial Times.
Tesco, Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm, France’s Casino, Malaysia-based private equity group Navis Capital as well as Thai conglomerate Berli Jucker are all believed to still be in the running for the sale of Carrefour's South East Asian assets, which is expected to generate close to US$1bn for the company.
PPT’s pullout does not seem to have affected the market, with Carrefour’s share price up 1.74 per cent in the first hour of trading on Wednesday.
