Wal-Mart launched its first credit card in China over the weekend, co-branded with Bank of Communications, the Wall Street Journal reported. The paper quoted analysts as saying that the venture is likely the first credit card issued by a foreign retailer. It marks a milestone in China's evolving consumer market, where less than 5 percent of the population has credit cards, according to industry estimates. The card will initially be launched in six Wal-Mart stores in Shanghai, Nanjing and Fuzhou, and "soon spread over the country," said a bank official. The Bank of Communications' credit-card unit is jointly run with HSBC Holdings PLC, which owns a 20% stake in Bank of Communications. In recent years, foreign banks have begun forming joint ventures with local banks to issue dual-currency credit cards, but none are profitable so far, analysts say.