100 most powerful Indians in the Gulf

1.Yussuffali MA

What a great year for Kerala-born Yusuffali MA. The boss of the EMKE Group owns many brands including the Lulu chain of hypermarkets. In April it opened its 100th store, in Ras Al Khaimah Mall. EMKE Group, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and has offices in 29 countries, employs around 27,000 people — including 22,000 Indians — and has an annual turnover of $4.5bn. The company is forecasting a 20 percent rise in sales for 2012.

EMKE Group opened its first supermarket in the early 1990s in Abu Dhabi and gradually expanded to cover different parts of the UAE capital. Today the LuLu Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Department Stores control 32 percent of the retail market share with 104 stores spread across the GCC, Yemen and Egypt. Yusuffali also became was the first expat to be elected as a board member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ADCCI) in 2005.