Lulu Exchange, a foreign exchange and remittance company, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 per cent ownership of Al Falah Exchange Company in the UAE for ₹95 crore.
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 UAE and 170 globally.
Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, Lulu Exchange, said in a statement that the new acquisition would help the company consolidate its network of branches, thereby serving a much bigger customer segment.
Launched eight years ago in Abu Dhabi, Lulu Exchange currently operates in Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Seychelles. On the expansion plans, Ahamed said the short-term goal (three years) is to expand its footprint across South East Asia, followed by Europe.
The company, according to him, is constantly innovating its method of doing business as emerging technologies are driving change in the financial services industry. The digital app is in its advanced stage of development and it will encapsulate all services that are available in the brick and mortar branches. “We are currently awaiting final approval from various regulators. Effectively, we aim to move 30 per cent of our transactions on to the digital platform by 2020,” he added.