IFFCO Group, the UAE's FMCG giant, entered provisional liquidation with $2B in debt

IFFCO Group was founded in 1975 by Indian entrepreneur Abdul Razak Allana as a small edible-oil trading business in Dubai. Over five decades it grew into one of the Middle East's largest privately held FMCG conglomerates, manufacturing and marketing food and non-food products under brands including London Dairy (ice cream), Tiffany (confectionery), Noor (cooking oil), Rahma (olive oil), Al Baker (ghee), Igloo (ice cream), Hayat (personal care), and Savannah (packaged foods). The group employed more than 12,000 people and sold products in over 100 countries.

On 3 May 2026, IFFCO Group announced it would enter provisional liquidation. The company had accumulated approximately $2 billion in debt, owed to creditors including HSBC. The provisional liquidation placed the entire group — all brands, subsidiaries, and 12,000 employees — under the control of court-appointed liquidators.

The collapse was the result of decades of aggressive debt-financed expansion. IFFCO had grown through acquisitions across multiple geographies and product categories, building a sprawling structure that depended on continuous access to credit. When global interest rates rose and commodity prices became more volatile, the group's ability to service its debt deteriorated. The 12,000-employee, 100-country operation could not be restructured quickly enough to avoid court intervention.