Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai's retail sector is booming faster than expected, today's Laodong Daily reported.
There are 97 hypermarkets, or markets with spaces over 5,000 square meters, across the city with another 28 ready to open soon.  In other words, by the end of the first half of this year, there will be a total of 125 hypermarkets, a number more than double the government's plan.  According to the "Tenth Five-Year plan" of Shanghai's commercial authority, the estimate was that there would be around 60 hypermarkets by the end of this year.
Most of the 28 markets are operated by overseas retail giants such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart.  The boom, particularly with overseas retail chains, follows China's gradual opening-up of its retail sector in accordance with commitments made upon China's entry into the World Trade Organization. 
However, the boom is unlikely to have much of a negative impact on domestic rivals, analysts pointed out. Instead, it will work to encourage domestic retail chain operators, said Professor Gu Guojian with the city's Franchise Research Institute.
For example, local retail chain giant Lianhua Supermarket Co Ltd has announced it will expand its chain stores to 6,000 this year and its key rival Hualian, another leading retail player plans to increase its stores nationwide to 5,000 by 2005.