In the midst of a race to acquire South Africa's MTN, Bharti Airtel [Get Quote] said on Tuesday the company has not made any bid so far.

"Bharti would like to clarify that it has not made any bid, nor is there any requirement to make a bid, as has been incorrectly speculated and reported," the company said.

The discussions being held are aimed at combining the strengths of the two leading emerging markets' players and accordingly veering towards possible structures to achieve this objective, it said.

Bharti's statement comes in the wake of media reports that the Sunil Mittal promoted company has submitted an indicative bid of over $19 billion and may have to increase the bid value as other companies like Etisalat of UAE may join the race.

Although Vodafone, has denied making any bid, but some of the foreign companies are understood to have evinced interest and are evaluating a possible bid for acquiring MTN.

Etisalat spokesperson told PTI that 'the company is examining all the options and will take a final decision soon on whether to bid or not.'

Meanwhile, Bharti emphasised that discussions with MTN management were still exploratory in nature and may or may not lead to any transaction.