China Retail opens

Last year China's retail sector was finally liberalized per its promise to do so when joining the WTO in 2001. Foreign retailers no longer have to form JVs or partner locally, resulting in a surge in applications and approvals -- some completely new to China such as prominent U.S. players like privately held Toys "R" Us and publicly traded Best Buy and Home Depot. Interestingly China has some of the world's largest shopping malls but only about 10% are profitable. New entrants seem to be eying only the major cities and as the CEO of Best Buy International said, "We're only going to open when it's right. This is not a race."