Wal-Mart is advancing plans to launch its own credit card in China in a partnership with GE Money and Shenzhen Development Bank. The Wal-Mart card will be the first of its kind to be issued by a foreign retailer in China. The US group currently operates 57 stores with a further 18-20 planned this year.

The card would be issued by SDB, a mid-sized lender in the rapidly developing south of China, with support from GE’s consumer finance unit, which announced plans for a $100m investment in the bank last October. Wal-Mart declined to comment on its partnership with SDB, saying it had not announced any plans in China to launch a credit card.

The move to create a private-label credit card reflects Wal-Mart’s commitment to expand its operations in China, where it is rolling out its network of stores beyond the coastal regions to secondary inland cities. ( MSNBC )