Chinese retail chain Suning Appliances has announced it will buy a stake in struggling Japanese consumer electronics retailer Laox for 800 million yen. Suning will buy 66.7 million shares in Laox at 12 yen each, giving it more than 27 percent stake to make it Laox's largest shareholder.

Suning says it has reached basic consensus with Laox on the purchase, but a formal agreement has yet to be signed. The deal must also get approval from Japan's related departments.

Suning says the deal is part of its long-term strategy and exposure to Japan's electronics retail market to help it become more competitive in pricing and customer service. Suning overperformed Gome, China's largest electronics appliances retailer, for the first time in 2008, with a net profit of more than 2.1 billion yuan.

(CCTV June 26, 2009)