Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and CMD of Bharti Airtel, the country’s top mobile service provider, fulfilled the global dream by entering into a deal with Zain Telecom of Kuwait to acquire its African assets.

The Bharti-Zain deal worth $10.7bn, including the Zain debt of $1.7bn, signed on Tuesday in Amsterdam, the headquarters of Zain’s African operations, will add another 42mn customers to Bharti Airtel, propelling it to the fifth rank among world’s top mobile service providers.

Sunil Mittal termed the deal as a ‘pioneering step towards South-South co-operation’ and said, “This is India’s first and truly post-independence multinational. We will demonstrate to the world the business model we have built. This is a game-changer for India in Africa.”

Mr. Mittal added that Bharti Airtel will remain committed to African requirements and by partnering with local governments will provide ‘affordable telecom services to the remotest geographies and bridging the digital divide’. He added that the African operations of the company will be headed by Africans with support from the Indian side.

The next hurdle for Bharti Airtel is getting necessary regulatory clearance for its operation in 15 African countries. Another priority for the company would be turning around the loss-making operations. Seven of the African units are making huge losses, including its biggest unit and highest revenue earner, Nigeria. The Nigerian and Gabonese unit of Zain may prove to be stumbling blocks with its existing issues.

Despite this, Mr. Mittal is optimistic that Bharti Airtel will emerge a winner in the deal with support from its trusted partners.

Even as economists of the world look towards India optimistically, statistics say that all is not well. The credit outlook for most Indian banks remains negative after the changes made in January earlier this year. Though the fundamental credit outlook was stable, the economic conditions still remain challenging and the number of problem loans or ‘bad’ loans still continues to be on the rise. Of course, the result of all this is an adverse effect on the quality of assets.

It has been estimated that even in the next twelve to eighteen months, things are not going to change for the better. There are no optimistic projections for the next year or two. The public sector banks, which make up the majority of the banking systems and assets, continue to hold a strong front. The concern for the deteriorating asset quality still looms large.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest life insurance company in India and also the country’s largest investor.; it is fully owned by the Government of India. It also funds close to 24.6% of the Indian Government’s expenses.It has assets estimated of 5 Trillion Rupees. It was founded in 1956.

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