Tesco has joined the bidding for China's Trust-Mart, and will battle with Wal-Mart and Carrefour in the $1bn-plus auction for the supermarket chain.

Tesco, which entered the Chinese market two years ago and has a 50 per cent stake in the 39-strong Hymall chain, would like to strengthen its hand in the expanding Chinese marketplace.

Trust-Mart, for sale since January, owns more than 100 stores in some of China's more affluent southern and eastern cities. It has hit a sticky patch having expanded too fast, say analysts.

Tesco’s overseas ambitions are coming to the fore this year. Already it has made a £250m cash injection in a chain of convenience stores on the country's West Coast.

It has also been linked with the $1.85bn (£1.05bn) purchase of Carrefour's stores in South Korea, where it operates under the Samsung banner, and the Indian telecoms group Bharti Tele-Ventures, which wants to expand into food retailing.

Analysts believe Tesco will have little trouble meeting the price ticket for Trust-Mart and a successful bid would see the chain move into the big league in China. Carrefour is the biggest overseas retailer in China with about 70 stores, while Wal-Mart has 51, and has revealed plans to create150,000 jobs in China over the next five years.

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