Carrefour to open 70 new mini-markets in Brazil in 2017

 French retailer Carrefour SA will open 70 new Express mini-markets in Brazil this year, newspaper Valor Econômico reported on Friday from Paris, citing Chief Executive Officer Georges Plassat.

Plassat said Carrefour's initial public offering in Brazil, expected to take place around the middle of the year, will strengthen its presence in the company's second largest market and "provide the necessary financial means to fund its expansion," Plassat was quoted as saying in Valor.

Carrefour posted its first drop in annual operating profits since 2012 on Thursday, following the weak results of its French operations.

Carrefour's press officers in São Paulo were not immediately available to comment on Plassat's remarks.