The UK-based supermarket chain, Asda, has confirmed plans to create 5,000 jobs this year.

The Wal-Mart-owned group said it would create the jobs by building 13 stores during the year, including four resitings or rebuilds.

Investment in store development would be �450m, it said.

Chief operating officer Paul Mason said: "This record level of investment by Wal-Mart in the UK is in line with our strategy of long-term market-share growth and good news for British customers who know that, when Wal-Mart comes to town, prices come down and stay down."

Number two?

Late last year, Asda claimed to have overtaken Sainsbury's to be the UK's number two supermarket operator behind Tesco.

However, some independent analysts said the statistics cited by Asda might be misleading as they were for volume rather than value of sales.

According to the more usually used means of measuring market share - sales value - Sainsbury's remained in second place, they said.

A year ago, Asda had said its expansion would generate 27,000 jobs over five years.

The new stores announced on Wednesday will be at: Bodmin, Cambridge, Dumbarton in Scotland, Dunstable, Hull, Hyde in Greater Manchester, Leyton in east London, Sefton in Liverpool and Swindon.

Stores at Livingston in Scotland and Coventry will be rebuilt while those at Cwmbran and Peterlee are being resited.

Asda said each new store created about 400 jobs while a resiting or rebuild created about 100 full- or part-time jobs.