Mittal, Sarin named in UK's Power 100 list

Two India-born British entrepreneurs -- steel czar Lakshmi Mittal and telecom tycoon Arun Sarin -- have been named among the 100 most powerful people in the UK business in a list compiled by the Times daily in London.

Mittal, who heads the world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal, has been ranked sixth in the annual 'Power 100' list of men and women holding sway over British business, while Vodafone CEO Sarin is at the 38th position.

The two have been ranked ahead of names like Richard Branson of airline-to-music conglomerate Virgin Group, lifestyle retail entrepreneur Philip Green and Diageo Chief Paul Walsh.

Win Bischoff, who was named Chairman of the world's largest bank Citigroup late last year, has topped the list as Britain's most powerful business leader. Branson has been ranked 92nd, while Walsh and Green are at 86th and 91st positions respectively.

The Times said that Mittal, ranked sixth on the Power 100 list and one of the richest men in the UK, "is a prime example of how the industrial and commercial revolutions of China and, in his case, India are being felt in the established bastions of capitalism".

"He shows the power of development and trade, as opposed to aid. He has channelled vast sums into charities, notably tsunami relief and the Labour Party. He has a stake in the West London football club Queens Park Rangers, joining Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, the Italian businessman, as a joint owner."

The report noted that Mittal set a world record in 2004 when he purchased a private house for 70 million pounds in Kensington Palace Gardens, West London. He also spent 30 million pounds in the same year on the wedding of his daughter, which included hiring cost for Palace of Versailles.

About Sarin, the daily noted that Vodafone CEO has steered the mobile phone company "back from the slough it found itself in after the dot-com crash that prompted a 75 per cent fall in the share price". Sarin had joined Vodafone in 1999 when the UK telecom giant acquired AirTouch, the US mobile business.

After heading Vodafone's American business for some time, he became a non-executive director and moved to the top job in 2003. Sarin, 53, had left India in 1975 to "study engineering at Berkeley but ended up at business school." He was recently chosen by Gordon Brown to join his council of business advisers.

Others on the list include Britain's largest company BP's CEO Tony Hayward (ranked 2nd), private equity major Permira Chairman Damon Buffini (3rd), Vodafone Chairman John Bond (4th) and Cynthia Carroll (5th), who became the first female and first non-South African head of mining giant Anglo American Plc.

Bank of England's Governor and Monetary Policy Committee Chairman Mervyn King has been ranked seventh, followed by retail major Tesco CEO Terry Leahy, HSBC Chairman Stephen Green and Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Fred Goodwin in top 10.

Others on the list include Alistair Darling (11th), private equity firm Terra Firma's Founder and CEO Guy Hands (12th), Barclays President Bob Diamond (13th), News Corp's Europe and Asia head James Murdoch (14th), GlaxoSmithKline CEO J P Garnier (15th), London Stock Exchange CEO Clara Furse (16th), Marks and Spencer CEO Stuart Rose (18th), BO Chairman Peter Sutherland (26th) and Barclays CEO John Varley (28th).