Indian business houses have been quick to rescue flailing U.K. businesses time and again and Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s bid for OneWeb was done in days, billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal said.
"Indians are fast movers and entrepreneurial in nature compared to American and European conglomerates," the founder-chairman of Bharti Airtel Ltd. told NDTV Profit in an exclusive interview. "This (the OneWeb acquisition) is one of the sterling examples of India-U.K. relations."
The rescue of Eutelsat Group's OneWeb broadband satellite internet provider required a decision within days and Airtel's bid was made during Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
King Charles III of Britain has bestowed an honorary knighthood on Mittal in recognition of his efforts to strengthen business ties between the two countries. The Honorary Knighthood, the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE), is among the highest honours conferred by the monarch on civilians.
"This award recognises India's rise in the world," Mittal said.
Indian businesses are recognised as good corporate citizens in the U.K. and the country has been a natural choice to set up operations, the Bharti Enterprises Ltd. chairman said.
"The U.K. has always been a natural choice for Indian businesses," he said, citing examples of the Tata Group's lucrative acquisitions of British companies in steel, tea and luxury cars. "It's only natural that we looked at the U.K. for business opportunities."
He said the U.K. government has been a good facilitator of Indian businesses in the country.
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