‘‘Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and agriculture minister Naren De have requested the company to wait till September 29 on the APMC licence. The company has agreed to honour the request,’’ Metro Cash & Carry India MD Martin Dlouhy said. He, however, said the company would be ‘‘very disappointed’’ if the APMC licence, which was unilaterally withdrawn in June 2007, wasn’t reissued as it would put the German
firm’s investment in a tight spot. ‘‘The non-reissuance of the APMC licence would adversely impact our whole business concept which is now compelling us to relook at our investments in West Bengal,’’ he added.

Going a step further, German consul general in Kolkata Gunter Wehrmann warned that denying Metro a licence would ‘‘sound the death knell for all future German investments in the eastern region of India since the Metro issue is being followed closely by other German companies’’. ‘‘No German investor is interested to come to Bengal because of the Singur issue. If Metro also faces a problem, it would make the position more difficult,’’ Wehrmann added.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, a Metro delegation, which included Dlouhy and group vice-president (international affairs) Heinrich Birr, held meetings with De and Bhattacharjee respectively. Company officials on Wednesday had termed the meeting with the CM as ‘‘encouraging’’.

Birr said the German major had agreed to invest in the state on the specific understanding that it would be given the APMC licence to deal in agricultural commodities to provide the desired benefits to farmers, producers and small traders. Apart from the Rs 140-crore store off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass which can’t be opened because of the APMC problem, Metro had plans to open three distribution centres in Kolkata and create 1,400 direct jobs.