By Twocircles.net Staff Reporter
Thiruvananthapuram: Prominent expat businessman Yusuff Ali M A made the country proud once again by being felicitated the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2017 on Thursday. According to a press statement issued by Yusuff Ali’s office, Lord Lieutenant John Crabtree, Queen’s special representative, handed over the award to the Kerala-born entrepreneur during a function, held at the Birmingham Council House. Later, Queen Elizabeth hosted a royal reception for him at Buckingham Palace.
Y International (UK) Ltd, food processing plant run by Yusuff Ali in Birmingham, was selected for the award for its remarkable contribution to UK’s trade and economy.
While addressing the gathering after receiving the award, Yusuffali said the recognition will help the company further strengthen the plans to expand business interests in the UK. “I am proud to receive the prestigious Queen’s Award. We will continue with our innovations and contributions to the dynamic economy of UK,” he said.
A tweet by Yusuff Ali said it was a real honour to meet and interact with Queen Elizabeth after attending the reception by the queen.
Institutions are selected for the award, which was established in 1966, for their extraordinary contributions in the field of economy, business and employment generation. And It’s given based on the recommendation made by British Prime Minister Theresa May and approved by Queen Elizabeth on her birthday. The winners are scrutinised by 30 top government agencies as part of the award selection process.
Started in 2013, the plant is functioning under Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu Group International. It has employed 300 local staff and is processing food products from the UK to support the demand for high-quality British products for sale in Lulu Group’s hypermarkets across the world. Lulu Group has 136 hypermarkets and supermarkets Middle East, India, Africa and the Far East. The Group has a vast organisational structure of over 35,600 employees, representing 37 different nationalities, out of which more than 28,900 are Indians.
Born in Nattika, Thrissur district on November 15, 1955, Yusuff Ali started a business in 1973 in Abu Dhabi. According to Forbes, Yusuff Ali is currently the 24th wealthiest Indian and the 270th (as on 9 August 2016) richest in the world, with a personal wealth of $4.3 billion. The country conferred him by giving Padma Shri in 2008 in recognition of his philanthropic activities and contributions to the economy.