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IMF: Walmart's SA entry was transparent

Cape Town - Walmart's R16.5bn acquisition of Massmart Holdings [JSE:MSM] has been a transparent process with all the regulatory bodies playing their parts properly, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This was the view of Alfredo Cuevas, the IMF's resident reporter in South Africa, on Wednesday before parliament's standing committee on finance.

Cuevas was answering a question from ANC MP Nick Koornhof on what the international perception was of SA as an investment destination, as three cabinet ministers had decided to oppose the Walmart entry through court action.

Koornhof was referring to the action brought about last month by Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, who want the Competition Appeals Court to apply stricter conditions to the US retail giant's entry into the local market.

The three ministers have also supported a plea by trade union Saccawu in the same court to have the Competition Tribunal's approval overturned.

"The entry of an international company into any domestic market is always controversial," Cuevas said.

"The Competition Tribunal issued a verdict based on its mandate and the most striking thing was not the controversy, but that the process has been very transparent and played out properly."
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