(Yicai Global) Jan. 19 -- French retail behemoth Carrefour Group has denied rumors that it plans to sell Chinese businesses to another French retailer Auchan and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding. Carrefour is mulling divesting operations in a number of countries including China, claimed reports from multiple sources.

Carrefour is planning to sell its Chinese assets to Auchan and Alibaba, reported French financial daily Les Echos yesterday. The supermarket chain denied the report in a statement on the same day. French business magazine Capital published a story last December, reporting Carrefour's new chief executive Alexandre Bompard has authorized three investment banks to investigate a divestiture of businesses in China, Argentina and Poland, but Carrefour China soon issued a denial in a statement.

With competition intensified in China's retail market, Carrefour suffered a 5.4 percent slump in operating income in the third quarter of last year, showed the firm's latest financial statement. The company downgraded earnings forecasts for the second time in six months, noting that Bompard will roll out a business revival plan on Jan. 23.

Carrefour traditionally sees China as an important market, and has opened more than 200 stores in the country. It also has continuously developed its own e-commerce platform. However, its long-standing rival Auchan has built a bigger footprint in the Chinese market, with 446 stores operated via its Chinese affiliate Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. [HKG:6808]. Last November, Alibaba became a shareholder of the firm with a USD2.86 billion investment, a deal that is believed to have undermined Carrefour's market share in the country, market observers say.