Tesco will recruit local talent following the construction of 50 shopping malls in China, according to a spokesperson for the supermarket.

The FT reports that Tesco plans to build 50 shopping malls in China over the next five years and anticipates more than doubling its number of hypermarkets from 82 to 200.

The spokesperson told Recruiter: “Wherever possible we look to employ locally. The best way to run your business is to cater for local customers and that means employing local staff wherever possible. That would be at colleague and manager level.

“We already have a substantial operation in China. We have 82 hypermarkets in China already.”

Tesco adds that it does not have a specific number for the amount of jobs that will be created. The spokesperson told Recruiter the total number will vary mall by mall, while “many of the jobs created will also be with our tenants rather than directly employed by Tesco”.