“It’s my job to move forward and not look back.” – These were the words of Sunil Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel while addressing the crowd at an event in Geneva. It is a well known fact that Bharti Airtel is scanning developing and emerging markets for possible acquisitions or collaborations. The telecom giant was in talks with South Africa’s cellular network operator MTN for a cross-shareholding deal.

However, last week, Bharti and MTN have called off the deal that was valued at nearly $24 billion. This was the second time the proposed deal between the two telecom players had collapsed in just over a year. MTN fell by the wayside owing to South African government’s demand that the South African management at MTN be retained. This structure is completely conflicting with Indian regulations.

Following the fallout, Mittal is rumoured to be looking at a stake in Zain – a Kuwait-based telecom company.