Argentina says Wal-Mart to invest $100 mln

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), the world's largest retailer, plans to invest $100 million in its Argentine unit, the Argentine government said on Wednesday.

This would come on top of the $150 million the company had pledged last year to invest by 2008. About two-thirds of that money has been spent already, the government said in a statement.

The president of Wal-Mart's local unit made the announcement in New York, where Argentine President Nestor Kirchner was attending the U.N. General Assembly.

Wal-Mart will invest in building new stores in the northern provinces of Santiago del Estero and Salta, as well as in Buenos Aires. The company has been operating in Argentina since 1995 and it employs more than 6,000 people. (Reporting by Damian Wroclavsky, writing by Hilary Burke)