India abandoned a rule against foreign single-brand retailers operating stores without a local partner, paving the way for global companies including Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Ikea.
The government ratified a Nov. 24 cabinet decision to raise the ownership limit to 100 percent from 51 percent for single- brand, Trade Minister Anand Sharma said in a statement yesterday. The new rules take effect immediately and require the companies to use smaller Indian companies for at least 30 percent of procurement, he said.
