It has been reported that Tesco is considering spinning off its South Korean operations as part of a wider plan to offload its Asian assets.

The supermarket is understood to have hired HSBC to work on the sale of its 400 South Korean stores, according to Reuters, which could be worth £3.3 billion.

If such a move goes ahead, it is likely that the profits will be used to kick start a turnaround of Tesco’s core UK business as competition intensifies between the big four grocers and the discounters.