Lulu Exchange acquires Al-Falah
Lulu Exchange, a leading foreign exchange and remittance company, has acquired 100 percent ownership of Al-Falah Exchange Company in the UAE.
This is a first of its kind large scale acquisition in the UAE, making Lulu Exchange the second largest player in the GCC. With this acquisition, Lulu Exchange’s total branch count goes up by 30 branches to reach 73 in the UAE and 170 globally.
Adeeb Ahamed, managing director, Lulu Exchange, said: “We are very excited with this new acquisition, which will help us further consolidate our network of branches, thereby serving a much bigger customer segment. I would like to express my gratitude to the regulators and government entities for their continued support.”
Launched eight years ago in Abu Dhabi, Lulu Exchange currently operates in Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Seychelles.
Ahamed added: “Our shortterm goal (three years) is to expand our footprint across South East Asia, followed by Europe. We are also looking to tap newer markets both regionally and globally.
“Being a highly service-oriented business, reach is of paramount importance, hence we believe that acquisitions are very integral to grow our numbers. I am pleased that our level of acquisition activity has picked up in the past five years, during which time we have added more than 80 branches to our portfolio and we are constantly on the lookout for opportunities that will further bolster our reach and network.”
He said emerging technologies are driving change in the financial services industry and the company is constantly innovating its method of doing business. “Our digital app is in its advanced stage of development and it will encapsulate all services that are available in our brick and mortar branches. We are currently awaiting final approval from various regulators. Effectively, we aim to move 30 percent of our transactions on to the digital platform by 2020,” Ahamed said.