Lotte Shopping, South Korea's second-largest retailer, is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Times, the Chinese supermarket operator, to expand its presence in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Lotte's move will rival a $600m bid from Chinese retailer Wumart Stores for the Chinese supermarket chain, and comes after Times invited a number of potential bidders to review the company's operations.

“We are reviewing opportunities to expand in China through mergers and acquisitions and buying Times could be one of the options,” said a Lotte spokesman.

He declined to give any details, adding that no decision has been made yet.

But media reports said Lotte was considering buying a 72.3 per cent stake in the Chinese retailer from Kenneth Fang, chairman, for more than Won600bn ($513m).

The Hong Kong tycoon reportedly began to consider selling the stake in April and hired HSBC Holdings to advise on the sale.

The deal could be the biggest acquisition in China by a Korean company, according to Bloomberg.

Lotte is the third-largest supermarket chain in South Korea, with 55 outlets or a 15 per cent domestic market share, trailing Shinsegae's E-mart and Tesco's Home-Plus.

The retailer has been trying hard to expand its footprints in emerging markets such as China, Russia and south-east Asia.

“Buying Times will help Lotte increase scale in China, which is critical in such a competitive market. Building a franchise takes a long time and it is also difficult [for Lotte to do] on its own,” said Han Kook-hee, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.