May 8 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, plans to invest ``hundreds of millions of dollars'' in Canada to open as many as 27 stores by January 2009.

Most of the new stores will be supercenters, which feature a grocery section with fresh food alongside general merchandise, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart said today in a statement.

Wal-Mart began opening supercenters in Canada in October 2006, and said last year that it is the preferred format for the country. The new project will give it more than 320 stores in Canada. It currently has 32 supercenters.

The expansion will add 6,000 in-store jobs by the end of January, giving Wal-Mart about 80,000 employees in the country.

About one-third of the new projects this year will be traditional discount stores expanded to supercenters, the retailer said.

Wal-Mart rose 33 cents to $57.16 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have risen 20 percent this year and are on course for their biggest annual jump in nine years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Bell in Washington at asnyder5@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 8, 2008 16:26 EDT