China Resources Enterprise Ltd, China's largest retailer by market share, announced on Thursday that the joint venture agreement it signed last year with Britain's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco Plc, has been approved by the Chinese government.

Under the agreement, CRE will hold an 80 percent stake in the enterprise, with Tesco holding the rest. Tesco will add the 135 outlets and 19 shopping malls it currently operates across the Chinese mainland into the new venture.

The new company is intended to be developed as a multiple-format retailer operating across the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. It will cover a variety of retail businesses, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and liquor stores.