KOCHI: On the morning of December 31, 1973, a boy from Nattika in Thrissur, barely 18, reached the shores of the UAE on a ship from Mumbai, with a dream to make a living and provide for his family back home.
When the shares of Lulu Retail get listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Thursday, it will be a major milestone in the extraordinary journey of Yusuff Ali M A, with the share sale making him the second-richest private individual in the UAE, according to Bloomberg.
The highly anticipated listing of Lulu Retail, which follows a record-breaking $1.72 billion IPO — UAE’s largest this year — will propel Yusuff Ali’s net worth to $7.6 billion, a jump from $5.3 billion in 2023.
“A record 82,000 retail investors subscribed for shares in the IPO, demonstrating the trust of the public on the Lulu brand, with more than 50,000 individuals registered in the 16 days between Lulu announcing its intention to float and the close of subscriptions,” a release said here. Lulu Retail’s IPO also marks the 100th listing on ADX, UAE’s largest exchange.
Yusuff Ali began with a small trading centre in 1974 in Dubai. The company now operates more than 240 hypermarkets, express and mini-market stores across the six GCC countries, sourcing products from 85 countries. “The IPO has captured global attention.
The landmark event will be marked by a formal bell-ringing ceremony at 10am on Thursday, officially declaring Lulu’s trading on the exchange and signalling a new chapter for both the company and the region’s retail markets. The allocation of shares has been successfully completed, and this listing also marks the 100th on ADX,” the statement said.
The IPO listing comes a day before Yusuff Ali’s 69th birthday on November 15. The richest Keralite in the Forbes billionaires list, his 39th rank in Forbes Indian billionaires list is likely to get a boost once trading begins on ADX.