Alongside his comments, Airtel just made a ₹28,220 crore share-swap deal to boost its stake in Airtel Africa from 58% to 78%, all without a major cash spend.
Mittal called it "A $3 billion transaction means you're making an acquisition, and you're making an acquisition of a business that you know deeply well," he said.
With profits, Airtel plans to keep expanding in Africa while still rewarding investors.