Wal-Mart's local wholesale business partner Bharti Enterprises Ltd is reportedly reconsidering its plans to enter a joint venture in the retail sector, two sources said.

Two people familiar with developments at the company said Bharti Enterprises, Wal-Mart's partner in a local wholesale business, is reviewing its commitment to setting up a retail joint venture with the American retail giant given the massive investment requirement and far-off prospects for good returns.

If the report is true and Bharti really pulls out of the proposed joint venture, then Wal-Mart would have to find a new partner to launch retail stores in India as rules say that a local company must own a minimum of 49 per cent stake in a retail joint venture.

As per the sources, Bharti now wants to consolidate its balance sheet and concentrate on its debt-ridden telecommunication business Bharti Airtel. Available figures suggest that Airtel is burdened with a debt pile of around $12 billion.

The sources also said that Arkansas-based Wal-Mart's first retail outlet in India will likely open in 2016 at the earliest as it would need nearly 12-18 months after obtaining licence for opening retail stores; and has no plans to apply for a licence before March 2015.

Wal-Mart has already announced that it would need a further 12-18 months after getting the licence to open each retail store in the country. It means Wal-Mart's first retail store in India would open in the year 2016 at the earliest.

A spokesperson for Wal-Mart declined to comment, while Bharti claimed that it remains fully committed to the proposed joint venture.