Retail giant Lulu Hypermarkets head Yusuffali MA had announced he would forging ahead with its expansion plans for the company. This includes the establishment of forty four new Lulu Hypermarkets in the next couple of years.

Yussufali MA was ranked as the 40th richest Indian national in the world. He is reportedly worth USD2.2 billion. Most of his fortune is in the stores he operates in the Middle East through the Abu Dhabi based Lulu Hypermarkets. His company now operates 104 stores in the region and there is no indication it would be letting up on its expansion plans.

Amongst the company's latest plans is the opening of new hypermarkets in the United Arab Emirates between 2014 and 2015. There are also reported plans to establish six stores in Oman, four stores in both Kuwait and Qatar and three stores in both Bahrain and Egypt. The biggest expansion push would be in Saudi Arabia, where fifteen stores are being planned to be opened by 2015.

side from the Gulf region, a push towards Asia, such as Malaysia and Indonesia and North Africa in Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Morocco.

In an interview published in Arabian Business, Yusuffali said, "After this Arab Spring, all these countries now the're now liberalising the foreign investment law and people need organized retail instead of traditional."

He added, "Our main business is hypermarkets, not shopping malls. But why are we going in shopping malls is the shopping malls will complement hypermarkets and the hypermarkets will complement the shopping malls. This is our model. I will sticl only in the core business, because I'm not a person for experiment. Diversification, from the country's point of view, will always be related sector. Hypermarkets, malls, hospitality, money exchange, food service, entertainment centres, etceteras, will be our focus area."

To support the growth of retail and exports business, the group was also investing heavily in the development of a logistics centre and cold storage facility in Kochi.