RIYADH: Top entrepreneur and philanthropist Yusuffali M.A. with huge presence in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries will be among the key business personalities who will be accompanying Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Kingdom on April 2 and 3.
The Indian businessman, who has a close affinity with Modi, chairs the $6.3 billion (in terms of revenues) retail giant LuLu Group, whose flagship include the LuLu retail chain with 121 hyper stores, supermarkets, grocery outlets and a dozen shopping malls across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
The LuLu Group has expanded into Africa by opening its first hypermarket in Egypt last year. It now plans to invest $300 million to build nine more. Moreover, the hospitality arm, Twenty14 Holdings, has been on a buying spree, picking up trophies such as the iconic Scotland Yard building in London, which the Group plans to convert into a luxury hotel.
In an exclusive interview, Yusuffali shared his views with Arab News on plans and visions including back home in India, where he is said to have made a huge investment to set up malls, a convention center, hotels and food processing plants in southern and northern parts.
