Insurance cos’ share in NSE stocks dips to 1.22%; LIC has pie in 307 firms

Of the 1,478 companies listed on the NSE, insurance companies have invested in 522 and own a 1.22 per cent stake overall, or ₹4.63 lakh crore, according to Prime Database. Since June 2009, holdings of insurance companies have decreased to 1.22 per cent from 1.98 per cent. However, the holdings in June 2009 were worth close to ₹2.5 lakh crore.

In 99 per cent of such cases, amounting to ₹4.59 lakh crore, an individual insurance company held more than 1 per cent stake in these companies. Of this, the value of LIC’s holdings was ₹3.89 lakh crore spread across 307 companies where the insurer had at least 1 per cent stake.

The other candidates in the top five included ICICI Prudential Life Insurance with ₹30,622 crore invested in 61 companies, GIC — ₹16,529 crore in 112 companies, HDFC Standard Life Insurance— ₹6,382 crore in 31 companies, and National Insurance Company — ₹4,490 crore in 11 companies.

The companies with highest insurer holding as on March 31, 2015, were Corporation Bank (23.99 per cent), ITC (21.77), Tata Steel (21.05), Tata Power (20.64), Bank of India (17.15), Shipping Corporation of India (17.12), United Nilgiri Tea Estates (16.94), PTC India (16.82), Reliance Infrastructure (16.51) and Dena Bank (15.61). On an overall basis, holdings of insurance companies went up in 90 companies with the average return of these companies during this period being 55 per cent. On the other hand, holdings of insurance companies went down in 282 companies listed on the NSE with the average return of these companies during period being a much higher 64 per cent.

The companies in which LIC has the maximum holding are Corporation Bank — 22.54 per cent, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (18.81), L&T (16.73), United Nilgiri Tea Estates (15.44), Orissa Minerals Development (15.42), Bank of India (14.93), Tata Steel (14.59), ITC (14.41), UCO Bank (14.36) and IOB (14.23). According to Pranav Haldea, Managing Director, Prime Database, “DII holdings in NSE-listed companies were at the highest level in six years at ₹10.21 lakh crore, up by 50 per cent from a year ago period.

“Though the holding went up from 4.58 per cent as on March 31, 2014, to 5.01 per cent as on March 31, 2015, on an aggregate basis, it still was lower than the ownership of FIIs at 6.44 per cent.”

The overall DII holding went up in 534 companies listed on the NSE with the average return on stock prices of these companies being 92 per cent.

The average return on stock prices in companies where DII holding went down (480 in number) was 57 per cent.