Keywords: Wal-Mart, Yihaodian, online trading, foreign investment

US based supermarket conglomerate Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced on 23 July 2015 that it has acquired full ownership in Yihaodian.com, a fast-growing online shopping platform that Wal-Mart has invested in since a couple of years ago.

In light of the recent relaxations announced by the State Council and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in respect of online trading based e-commerce business, this acquisition is noteworthy as it signals that foreign investment in online trading based e-commerce business is no longer subject to investment or regulatory restrictions.

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Originally published 5 August 2015

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