KOCHI: M A Yusuff Ali, chairman of $7.5 billion turnover retail chain Lulu Group, has become the first Indian to receive permanent residency in Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom recently permitted foreign nationals to own business and property without the need for a sponsor.
Reacting to the news Yusuffali said, this was “obviously a very proud and humbling moment in my life."
In a press statement, he said: "This is a great honour not only for me but for the entire Indian expatriate community and I sincerely thank the HM King Salman, HRH Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and the government of Saudi Arabia."
The Premium Residency, informally known as Saudi Green Card, is a residence permit in Saudi Arabia grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor.
The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy.
KSA residency center (@SaudiPRCen) today officially twitted the announcement.
Yussuffali's Lulu Group, which owns and operates more than 35 hypermarkets and supermarkets in KSA including ARAMCO Commissaries and National Guards superstores, said the new permanent residency initiative will further boost Saudi Arabia's image as one of the key investments & business hubs of the region as well as attract and retain new investors here.
"This initiative is targeting key investors and prominent personalities from various fields including sports, arts & culture, who have played a defining role in the nation-building process," Yusuff Ali said.
In India, the Lulu Group runs its shopping mall in Kochi while it is establishing malls in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.