January 13, 2007
By Arun Kumar, Indo-Asian News Service
Washington (IANS): Naming India's Sunil Mittal as Asia's Businessman of the Year, Fortune Magazine calls him a 'Wireless Wonder' who has built a mobile-phone empire by turning outsourcing on its head. Now the founder and CEO of India's leading mobile company, Bharti Airtel, is plotting a retail revolution with a new partner - Wal-Mart, said the magazine in the cover story of its international edition.
India's No. 1 mobile provider with subscriptions shooting past the 30 million mark is expected to report revenue of more than $4 billion in the fiscal year ending March, up from $509 million in 2003. With a market capitalisation of $26 billion, Bharti has emerged as India's fourth-most-valuable firm, and Mittal one of India's richest men.
Now Mittal is forging his most audacious foreign partnership yet, Fortune said. In November he announced that Bharti Enterprises will team with Wal-Mart (Charts) to transform India's underdeveloped retail market. Terms of the alliance, structured to end-run Indian restrictions barring foreign investment in any retail operation offering customers more than one brand, grant Bharti full ownership of stores selling directly to Indian consumers under the Wal-Mart name.
Bharti and Wal-Mart will form a separate joint venture to take on back-end activities in which overseas investment is permitted, including wholesale, logistics, supply-chain management and distribution.
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