Bharti Tele-Ventures, promoted by Sunil Bharti Mittal, has grown from a small entrepreneurial manufacturer and importer of telephone equipments to India's largest private-sector telecommunications service group with 17 million customers.
In a short span of 10 years, Bharti Tele-Ventures has emerged as India's eighth largest company in the private sector as on November 2005 by market capitalization of Rs. 67,375 cr. With $2 bn in annual revenues its stock has grown fivefold since its listing in early 2002, and the company is presently valued a little over Rs. 65,000 cr. Bharti's sales have grown from Rs. 5,036 cr (FY2003-04) to Rs. 8,115 cr (FY2004-05), a healthy growth of 62%.
In October 2005, after having received the single largest foreign investment ever made into the country Bharti has achieved the leading market position in the country's mobile telecom service. The company has roped in Europe's largest telecom operator the UK-based Vodafone Group PLC as its additional strategic partner by selling 10% stake of the company in a deal worth around $1.5 bn. The deal was a result of shift in government's policy which raised the FDI limit in telecom sector from 49 to 74%. Vodafone is the fifth telecom major to invest in Bharti after Vivendi, British Telecom, Telecom Italia, and SingTel. The deal is expected to provide the company the necessary know-how to roll out third generation services at an early date. The company with its growth story has proved that it is possible to make money, stay big, and still offer low rates, irrespective of what s have to say about the low ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User). The achievement of Bharti is vindicated with telecom Asia awarding Sunil Mittal with the best Asian telecom CEO and Asia's best GSM Carrier 2005 honors.
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