Sainsbury's "may pull out of Egypt"

The British supermarket chain, Sainsbury's, says it is considering scaling down its operations in Egypt and may even pull out of the country altogether.

Over the past three years, Sainsbury's has opened one-hundred outlets in Egypt, and currently employs more than two-thousand people.

A spokeswoman said the plans had nothing to do with a current campaign, mainly by Islamist activists in Egypt, calling for a boycott of Sainsbury's over allegations that the company supports Israel.

Sainsbury's has rejected the allegations.

The spokeswoman said the decision to review Sainsbury's operations in Egypt was taken on purely business grounds this summer -- months before the Palestinian uprising which also led to calls for a boycott of American and Israeli products.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service