LONDON - SunArt Retail Group Ltd, the Chinese hypermarket operator backed by France's Group Auchan SA, plans to raise as much as HK$8.2 billion ($1.1 billion) in a Hong Kong initial public offering.

The Shanghai-based company, which counts Wal-Mart Stores Inc among its competitors, plans to sell 1.14 billion new shares for HK$5.65 to HK$7.20 each.

About half the stock will go to nine so-called cornerstone investors, including the Government of Singapore Investment Corp and Tiger Global Management LLC, which agreed to invest $40 million each.