Jakarta, Feb. 21 -- Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono has emphasized that the government does not plan to halt the expansion of convenience store chains such as Alfamart and Indomaret, but intends to regulate their presence, particularly in rural areas.

He said villages should not be dominated by modern convenience stores, as they already have the Red and White Village Cooperatives.

"Ideally, villages should not have Alfamart or Indomaret because we already have cooperatives, so money circulates within the village instead of going to shareholders in Jakarta," he told ANTARA on Saturday.

He was responding to reports suggesting that the government would stop modern retail expansion following the establishment of the Red and White co...