A Thai business journalist sued for £1.9 million of libel damages by Tesco Lotus has reached an agreement with the supermarket chain to end the suit, according to The Guardian newspaper.

Nongnart Harnavilai agreed the wording of a clarification report in response to remarks she made in her "Buzz" business gossip column in January, in which she said the global retailer did not "love" Thailand.

It will be published in a short statement in newspaper Bangkokbiznews for three consecutive days on an inside page, will say that the author is sorry that her readers may have taken the wrong meaning from her story.

On the first day a "pointer" would be printed on the front page, indicating its position in the paper. Both sides, who are to pay their own legal costs, will meet on February 13, 2009 and Tesco Lotus, the Thai arm of the supermarket giant, will formally withdraw its claim for damages.

A Tesco UK spokesperson said: "We took the action reluctantly, and throughout have made it clear all we wanted was an apology. We continue to engage as the legal process continues."

A second Tesco Lotus case against another of the newspaper's columnists, Kamol Kamoltrakul, also for £1.9m, was due to go for arbitration last week.

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