Lulu Group to invest heavily in Indian retail sector

Non-resident Indian businessman Yusuffali M.A.’s Lulu Group is investing over Rs.7,000 crore in key sectors including retail.

The Abu Dhabi-headquartered retail conglomerate that has a global annual turnover of $6.3 billion will invest Rs.4,650 crore in Kerala, Rs.1,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh and Rs.1,410 crore in Telangana in the hospitality and retail sectors, according to media reports.

Yusuffali, a first generation migrant to the Middle East, was ranked the 30th wealthiest Indian and the 737th richest person in the world by the Forbes magazine last year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to a number of Gulf nations coupled with initiatives to attract foreign investment have made India the most talked about FDI destination in the region which is looking to broaden its non-oil investment, according to the Kerala-born NRI.

“There will be a tremendous push from Gulf investors into India as they are looking to broaden their non-oil investment,” said Yusuffali, whose business empire is spread across 30 countries and hires the highest number of Indians outside India.

Complimenting the government’s announcement of raising the FDI cap for key sectors, Yusuffali predicted that investment to the tune of $150 billion will flow into India’s retail, aviation, tourism and manufacturing sectors from the Gulf countries in the next few years.

The Lulu group, he said, will initially invest Rs.1,000 crore for setting up a shopping mall and a five-star hotel and convention centre in Lucknow. The site for the project has already been identified and construction work is due to begin by December this year.

The Group is investing Rs.500 crore for establishing a food processing plant in Telangana and another Rs 900 crore on building a shopping mall in Hyderabad.

In Kerala, Yusuffali’s company is setting up a shopping mall and a five-star hotel in capital Thiruvananthapuram with investment of Rs.1,250 crore, while another five-star hotel was planned in Kochi at an investment of Rs.1,600 crore.

His Group is also a setting up an information technology park at Kochi with an investment of Rs.1,400 crore.