Overview

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed in Abu Dhabi that he urged LuLu Group chairman Yusuff Ali to set up Australian stores to challenge Coles and Woolworths.
• LuLu Hypermarket is a major Middle Eastern retailer with more than 250 outlets, and it showcased Australian products as it hosted the prime minister.
• The new Australia–UAE free trade agreement will remove tariffs on 99 percent of Australian exports and is expected to channel UAE sovereign wealth investment into Australia.
• The competition watchdog found in March that Coles and Woolworths had limited incentive to compete on price, with market share estimates of Woolworths at 38 percent, Coles at 29 percent and Aldi at 9 percent.
• Albanese has rejected forced break‑ups of supermarket chains and is pursuing measures such as planning and zoning changes and an excessive pricing regime to spur competition.