Indian telecoms billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal had to rush out of the Standard Chartered annual meeting after being elected as a new director - to catch a plane for a "big family engagement". Not that anyone would mind, as the bank annual report shows he is not only a board member but also a valued client. StanChart had loans of $123m and guarantees of $47m to Bharti Enterprises Group at the end of 2007. The bank is also advising Bharti Airtel, his mobile group, on its $37bn bid for South Africa's MTN and is providing partial financing.

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