[THE INVESTOR] Korean retail giant Lotte said on March 16 it plans to wrap up the sale of its hypermarket chain in China by the first half of this year.

Chinese retailer Liqun Group is carrying out an on-site inspection of Lotte Mart’s Chinese stores, according to the Korean firm. It marks the first time that any firm has taken such a step, although many have showed interest and reviewed documents.

“Three to four companies, including Liqun Group, are either in the process of, or planning to carry out, an on-site inspection,“ a Lotte Mart official said. ”The atmosphere has certainly changed from when companies only looked at documents.”

Lotte’s aim is to complete the sales process by June, when some 700 billion won (US$653 million) of emergency funds it has injected into its Chinese retail business is expected to be used up.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)