Padmashri Mr. M. A. Yusuff Ali doesn’t need any introduction. Even while expanding his business empire, he is more concerned about his motherland which contributes to the state’s development in a big way.
Mr. M.A. Yusuff Ali, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-headquartered EMKE Group of Companies, was instrumental in implementing SmartCity Kochi. Recently, Mr. Yousuf Ali topped the list of powerful Indians in the Gulf region. He was the first ex-pat to be elected as a board member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) in 2005.
On current scenario
Gone are the days when Kerala was noted only for its natural beauty. Today not many states can match the facilities Kerala offers for industries that operate in the knowledge sector. The State has some unique advantages and facilities when compared with the other states in India. One among them is the pool of well-trained human resources to meet the demands of global business needs.
Today, Kerala is rapidly emerging as one of the most preferred destinations for economic activity in India. Our prestigious project Lulu International Shopping Mall which is going to be Asia’s largest shopping wonder is coming up at Kochi. The project, which has a total investment of Rs 1600 crore, envisages direct job opportunities for 8000 people and indirect employment for more than 20,000 people.
Two five-star hotels, one near the Nedumbassery Airport started functioning and another being built in cooperation with the famous Marriott adjacent to Lulu Shopping Mall is under final stages of construction. A Flight Kitchen of international standards in collaboration with Lufthansa was launched last month. We have just commenced work on building India’s largest Convention Centre and Five Star hotel in association with Grand Hyatt at Bolghati, Kochi. The construction of a Logistic Centre and Cold Storage facility, the finest ones of their kind in India has begun and is expected to be operational in 6 months. The work is progressing on another Convention Centre in Kozhikode.
The total investment in all these projects will be in excess of Rs 5000 crores.
The Non-Resident Keralites have always supported the economy of India, especially that of Kerala with their remittances. There are 3.5 to 4 million NRKs in the Gulf out of which 70% are skilled and semi-skilled workers. They cannot start a business or project on their own, but, are ready to invest their hard-earned money for the development of the state. There are a lot of projects Non-Resident Keralites are interested in and in which small, medium and large investors can invest.
The State Government must provide single window clearance and invest more in the infrastructure development or at least help those who are ready to do so by facilitating speedy government approvals etc.
Advice to new generation
There are no shortcuts to success and there is no easy way to sustain long. This many people learned the hard way during the recent which affected the region couple of years back. All those looking for quick money were wiped off while companies with strong foundations and long term vision survived and grew. My advice would be to have long term plan and don’t enter unrelated sectors just for easy money. Focus on core business and keep innovating.
About Lulu Group
Lulu Group currently has 104 hypermarkets and shopping malls in the gulf controlling a market share of 33 per cent with an annual turnover of around US$ 4 billion. By the end of this year we will be opening another 5 more malls in different countries and this will take our employee count to more than 35000 from the current figure of 31000, out of which around 26000 will be Indians.
