Brokers have been busily upgrading Tesco stock following an investor relations trip to the retailer's Asian stores. Describing Tesco as a "strong international challenger," Goldman Sachs and Lehman Bros have raised their price targets for its shares to 295p and 290p respectively. Lifting its target price from 268p to 310p, Schroder Salomon Smith Barney predicts Tesco will be "rerated as a global player," with the "fastest growing international business of all the European food retailers". Tesco's superior distribution and site research make it well placed to achieve market leadership in Thailand and Korea, said SSSB analyst Dave McCarthy. By scooping up top quality sites in Thai capital Bangkok, Tesco has stolen the march on arch rival Carrefour, which has "positioned itself too far out of the centre of the city". As the only Thai retailer to operate its own distribution centre and automated reordering, Tesco has a major competitive advantage. McCarthy was equally impressed with Tesco's South Korean operations, and while investing in the far east is an inherently risky enterprise, he observed, Tesco's research skills and strong track record would minimise the risk. {{NEWS }}

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