This refers to ‘Bharti overtakes Tata in market cap, Mittal surprised’, January 5. The article points out that Sunil Mittal has beaten the entire Tata Group in terms of market capitalisation. Apart from Mittal’s personal abilities, this should settle the debate on diversification versus single businesses once and for all.
Mittal has focussed on telecom and has been doing well. It is very likely that as he moves on to other businesses — retail, insurance — he will lose this focus. By focussing on just one industry, Mittal beat all the others who are in this business but are diversifying to other areas — this includes the Ambanis, the Tatas, Essar and the Birlas. It is no coincidence that the top players of this industry in the country, Airtel and Vodafone, are both solely focussed on one area.
Asha Gupta, New Delhi
