Dubai: Ninety-five-year-old prominent Emirati businessman and founder of Al Ghurair Group, Saif Ahmed Al Ghurair died in Dubai, on Tuesday.
His funeral prayers will be held in Dubai at Al Qusais graveyard on Tuesday.
The eldest of five sons, Al Ghurair was born in 1924 in Deira and became involved in the family business of pearl diving.
By 1930s the family branched into trading and began to take dates from Iraq to Africa and India and return with textiles and logs for boat building. Gold was later added to the lsit of cargo since Dubai became an important centre for trade in gold.
In the late 1950s, Dubai witnessed a boom and in the '60s Saif established Al Ghurair Group.
The Group diversified into numerous business lines, including retail, manufacturing and real estate. Each venture was assessed based on its ability to contribute to the growth of the Group and that of the Dubai economy.
Saif also instilled in his employees the importance of excelling in customer service.
“The core of [the Group’s] success has always lied in its winning corporate culture; that promotes growth and fosters innovation, and in its customer-driven strategy, that is guided by quality, creative solutions, and a non-stop search for better ways to serve our clients,” he said in his statement published on Al Ghurair Group website.
Condolences from the business community have started pouring in as prominent Emirati businessman Khalaf Ahmed Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of Al Habtoor Group.
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