SINGAPORE: France's global shopping market Carrefour has announced it will close its two stores in Singapore before the end of the year. The company announced on Tuesday that the move was part of the overall growth and expansion prospects do not give it the chance of becoming a leader in the city. Carrefour has two outlets in Singapore: Plaza Singapura and Suntec City Mall. The first store from the French company had opened in 1997, but in 2010 it announced it would leave the Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand markets. Some 380 employees will be affected as a result of the closures. It sold its operations in Thailand, where it had 42 stores, including 34 hpyermarkets, to Thai chain Big C for $1.36 billion. Carrefour's main competitors in Singapore are supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice and the Dairy Farm Group of supermarkets, which includes Cold Storage.