Tesco PLC has set up a South China headquarters in the city of Guangzhou, to help boost the group's presence in that wealthy part of the country, state media reported Thursday.

The group already has three stores in southern China, out of 47 in the country, and will open its first outlet in Guangzhou soon, the China Business News reported, citing a company source.

The world's third largest retailer entered China in 2004 by acquiring a 50 percent stake in Ting Cao, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Ting Hsin International Group which owns 44 hyper markets in China through the Hymall chain.

Last year, it paid around 350 million dollars to raise its stake in the joint venture to 90 percent in a bid to accelerate its expansion in the country.

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