LuLu Group to invest $1.2bn in India by 2026

Shutterstock/Wiropidah Dahlan

• Abu Dhabi retail giant opening more shopping malls
• LuLu’s annual turnover is $8bn
• UAE invested over $3bn in India in past 12 months

LuLu Group will invest Rs 100 billion ($1.22 billion) in India over the next three years, chairman MA Yusuff Ali has confirmed.

The UAE retail major has already put over Rs 200 billion in the country, state-owned Press Trust of India reported.

The company has committed Rs 35 billion in Telangana state in south India over the next five years across various projects, including a 500,000 square foot shopping mall in Hyderabad, which will be opened in August.

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”We have started the construction of a shopping mall in Ahmedabad,” Yusuff Ali said, adding another mall is being developed in Chennai. 

“A food processing plant is coming up in Noida and another one in Telangana.”

Founded by Ali in 2000, LuLu has an annual turnover of $8 billion, according to its website.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the retail giant is involved in the development of shopping malls, manufacturing and trading of goods, hospitality assets and real estate.

LuLu Group operates in 23 countries across the Middle East, Asia, the US and Europe.

The UAE has become the fourth-largest investor in India in the past 12 months, with foreign direct investment rising more than three-fold to $3.35 billion.

One of the driving factors for the increase is the signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa), which came into effect on May 1 2022.

Under the deal, several goods from both countries get zero-duty access to each other’s markets. It also eased norms for promoting investments.

The Emirates was the seventh largest investor in India in 2021-22, with $1.03 billion of FDI, according to data from the government’s industry promotion and internal trade department.

The UAE’s investments in India include services, sea transport, power and construction sectors.

Between April 2000 and March 2023, the Emirates accounted for approximately 2.5 percent of India’s total FDI, amounting to $15.6 billion.

Following the first joint committee meeting of the India-UAE Cepa in New Delhi, India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that discussions between the countries’ central banks on promoting bilateral trade in the rupee and dirham are progressing at a “very” fast pace.