Mumbai: American retail chain Walmart will invest Rs900 crore to open 15 outlets catering to wholesalers in Maharashtra, the state government said on Wednesday.

“Walmart will open 15 additional modern wholesale cash and carry stores in the coming years by investing Rs900 crore," an official statement from the chief minister’s office in Mumbai said. These stores will generate 30,000 direct and indirect jobs in the western state, it added.

The state’s industries department signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with officials from Walmart in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday with regard to the network expansion.

The American retail giant has two stores at present in Maharashtra—in Aurangabad and Amravati. Chief minister’s additional chief secretary Pravinsingh Pardeshi, additional chief secretary (industries) Sunil Porwal, development commissioner Harshdip Kamble and Walmart’s India head Krish Iyer were also present at the MoU signing ceremony, it said.

At present, Indian laws do not permit full foreign direct investment in single brand retail due to which many of the global brands are operating in the cash and carry format which serves only wholesalers. Walmart India currently owns and operates 21 best price modern wholesale membership clubs across nine states, offering nearly 5,000 items. The company plans to open 49 more such outlets by 2020, it had earlier said.

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