On Monday, Yusuff Ali, the Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group International, announced that his company plans to establish two expansive shopping malls in India, specifically in Ahmedabad and Chennai.
Ali said, “We are going to construct one of the largest shopping malls in Ahmedabad and Chennai and we are opening our shopping mall in Hyderabad end of this month. Also we are going to different states for shopping malls and food processing.”
Hyderabad will mark the sixth city, joining the ranks of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Coimbatore, where the group has established its shopping mall presence.
Based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Lulu Group has gained a reputation as an influential pioneer in the retail sector across the Middle East and North Africa region. With a presence spanning more than 250 hypermarkets and supermarkets, the group has earned widespread acclaim among discerning shoppers in the GCC, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event where over two dozen Memoranda of Understanding were signed between Indian and Saudi Arabian companies, covering a wide range of sectors including Information Technology, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and human resources, among others, he highlighted the deep-rooted historical relationship between India and Saudi Arabia.
“A lot of liberalization happened and ease of doing business happened… A lot of restrictions are removed by the Prime Minister and the government. We are very thankful to him,” Ali said.
The MoUs were signed as part of the State visit by Saudi Arabian Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who arrived in Delhi for a three-day visit on Saturday. His visit to Delhi followed his participation in the G20 Summit, and he extended his stay in India for the subsequent state visit.
“So this historical visit has further strengthened the bilateral commercial and the leadership relation,” the Lulu Group chief said.
On India’s G20 presidency, Ali said, “India is a global leader and we should congratulate our prime minister Narendra Modi ji for his hard work and bringing all the leaders here. And India’s tradition, India’s culture also showed to the great leaders of different countries.”
The Lulu Group boasts a workforce of over 65,000 individuals hailing from 42 different nations and achieves a global annual turnover of USD 8 billion.