Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd, an operator of supermarkets and retail stores, has bought a 20 percent stake in Yonghui Superstores Co for 5.7 billion yuan ($925 million), according to a subscription agreement recently signed by the two companies, people.cn reported on Feb 16.

Dairy Farm is a subsidiary of Jardines, one of the oldest British trading companies in Hong Kong. Dairy Farm had been seeking opportunities to tap into the huge and fast growing Chinese market, and the cooperation with Yonghui will provide it with an effective platform to achieve this goal, said Graham Allan, CEO of Dairy Farm, in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

According to the subscription agreement, Yonghui's products will take advantages of Dairy Farm's sales channels to access international markets. Dairy Farm will open its purchase and supply chains to Yonghui, making it possible for foreign products sold at Yonghui's chain stores.

Yonghui Superstores, headquartered in Fuzhou, Fujian province, is one the top 500 enterprises in the country. It currently operates more than 460 supermarkets across 17 provinces.

It is the second time for Yonghui to issue shares since it went public in 2010. The raised funds will be used to open more retail stores, develop e-commerce platform and build logistics and distribution centers.

The cooperation between the two companies will have an important impact on Chinese retail industry and enhance Yonghui's competitiveness in the business, said some retail experts.