India Panel Said to Advise Easing Limits on Wal-Mart, Tesco

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Carrefour SA may gain access to the retail market of the world’s second most-populous country after an Indian government panel was said to have recommended easing restrictions on the industry.

Overseas companies could be allowed to own as much as 51 percent of stores that sell more than one brand if they invest a minimum of $100 million, a panel of bureaucrats in New Delhi recommended on July 22, according to a finance ministry official. Pantaloon Retail Ltd., India’s largest listed store owner, rose to its highest level in more than six months in Mumbai today.