Sunil Bharti Mittal is not the only major shareholder hoping that second time is a charm. For SingTel, the Asian telecoms company that owns 30 per cent of Bharti Airtel, the proposed $23bn tie-up between the Indian mobile operator and South Africa’s MTN is a no-brainer.

Slowing demand has already led SingTel abroad in search of growth. Its biggest markets, Australia and Singapore, have more mobile phones than people. Bharti’s acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in MTN, in return for cash and a cross-shareholding, would give the Indian group’s biggest shareholder exposure to underdeveloped markets in Africa and the Middle East.