UAE-based LuLu Group to open malls in Bengaluru, Chennai

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu Group has confirmed plans to build shopping malls in Bengaluru and Chennai as part of a major expansion of its interests in India.

This is on top of the mall projects the Group had announced for three other Indian cities - Lucknow, Vishakapatanam and Thiruvananthapuram, Gulf News reported.

It currently operates a mall in Kochi in Kerala, rated as the biggest in southern India.

"We have acquired an ongoing mall development in Bengaluru and will build our own in Chennai," said the company's Indian Chairman and Managing Director, M.A. Yusuff Ali. 

Ali also featured in the 2019 Forbes billionaire list as the richest expat in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The retail king is worth over $4.7 billion. He ranked 394 on the list. 

"Mall projects give us the best platform to keep expanding our India portfolio - there's so much still to do in India's retail space.

"It was easier to acquire an ongoing project in Bengaluru than go searching for a wide expanse of land. The price was right and that's why we closed it at the first opportunity," Ali said.

The Bengaluru and Chennai projects are expected to be operational by end of this year.

The Group generated revenues of $7 billion last year, of which nearly 60 per cent came from its diverse operations in the UAE.