Letter.

Letter Published in The National UAE on 29Aug 19 Saif Al Ghurair was a legend throughout the Arab world

With reference to your story Tributes pour in after Saif Al Ghurair, pioneering Dubai businessman, dies (August 27), the demise of the 95-year-old magnate is a great loss to the Arab world as well as to the business community in Dubai.

In Dubai, tourists who visit the older part of the city never miss an opportunity to go to his great mall, the Al Ghurair Centre. Three decades ago, it was the talk of the town – a mall to beat all malls.

Then there is Masafi, the popular bottled drinking water company he started in the UAE. This stalwart and his Al Ghurair Group employ thousands of employees, among them a considerable number of Indian overseas workers.

Whenever I visit Dubai and back when I was working in the UAE, I would always grab an opportunity to meet clients and friends in the Al Ghurair Centre.

I pray for the late business legend, a true Rockefeller of the Arab world.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru