FPI stake in NSE listed cos at 6-year high, LIC ’s record low

NEW DELHI: Foreign shareholding in companies listed on the National Stock Exchange was the highest in six years as of Dec 31, as foreign institutional and portfolio investors pumped in trillion s of rupee sin Indian equities, data compiled by PRIME Database Group showed.

FPIs held 22.74% of all NSE-listed companies as of end of December, up fr om 21.51% they held as on September-end, taking the total value of their holding to nearly 42trln rupees, PRIME Database said. The net foreign inflows in Oct-Dec rose 29% sequentially to 1.4 trln rupees, which drove benchmark indices by more than 20%. Meanwhile, the percentage holding of the government of India in NSE-listed companies hit an all-time low, declining for the fourth straight quarter. Their stake was down at 5.08% in Oct-Dec, against 5.10% in the previous quarter.

The percentage holding of Life Insurance Corp of Indi a, which holds nearly 74% of the share of Indian equities held by insurance companies, also fell to a lifetime low of 3.7% as of Dec 31, down from 3.9% it held as of Sep 30.

According to PRIME data-base, retail holding in companies listed on the NSE, too, declined to 6.9% in Oct-Dec from 7% in Jul-Sep, as domestic retail investors booked profits to cash in on the strong gains. Holding of domestic mutual fund companies in NSE-listed firms, was down for the third straight quarter, after having risen for 24 consecutive quarters. Mutual fund companies held 7.42% of NSE-listed firms as of Dec 31, down from 7.65% it held as on Sep 30.

Like retail investors, mutual funds, also, looked to book profits and were net sellers of Indian equities . As a result, the gap between FPI holding and domestic institutional holding widened to an all-time high.

"FPIs are the largest non-promoter shareholders in the Indian market and their investment decisions have a huge bearing on the stock prices and overall direction of market," said Pranav Haldea, managing director, PRIME Database Group, said.

"It is thus time that complete details of all their holdings are made mandatory to be disclosed in India." Foreign fund flows continued in 2021 as well, that drove benchmark indices to all-time highs.

The Nifty 50 today topped the 15100-mark for the first time ever and the Sensex moved past the 51000 milestone.

Today, Nifty 50 and Sensex closed at 15115.80 points and 51348.77 points, respectively