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UTI holding in HFCL at 12.42 pc

Jayanta Mallick

KOLKATA, July 18

UNIT Trust of India, as on June 30 this year, held 97,91,814 shares of Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL) out of the company's total issued and paid-up capital of 7,88,22,155.

According to the HFCL's quarterly declaration to the stock exchanges, UTI's holding represented 12.42 per cent voting rights in the company.

The holding assumes importance in the light of investigation launched by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into UTI's investment deals, particularly in the momentum stocks reportedly rigged by Mr Ketan Parekh and his associates. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has already identified HFCL as one of K-10 stocks.

SEBI, in its preliminary report on the securities scam, has detailed UTI's buy and sell deals in HFCL for the period between July 1999 and March 2001 on a monthly basis.

According to the figures compiled by SEBI, UTI's total purchases of HFCL scrips in 21 months since July 1999 numbered 39,58,282, while the total sales stood at 37,71,165 scrips. Thus, the net of buy and sell would be 1,87,117 scrips.

UTI's most significant buying into HFCL was in the month of August 2000, when it bought 11,34,201 shares. UTI had bought six lakh shares of HFCL in September 1999 and 4,43,681 in March 2000. In February and March this year, UTI purchased 2.54 lakh and 1. 46 lakh HFCL shares respectively.

According to the SEBI report, UTI substantially unloaded HFCL shares in August 1999 as also in June and August 2000. It did not sell a single HFCL scrip in March 2001, April and October 2000 as also in the months of September, October, November and Decem ber of 1999.

Meanwhile, HFCL has further informed that the majority of the total holding of 23.55 per cent by foreign institutional investors was concentrated in five entities. They are: Janus Overseas Fund (6.21 per cent), Deutsche Equities (Mauritius) Ltd (4.62 per cent), Demgof (Mauritius) Ltd (3.63 per cent), BT Funds Management Ltd (1.71 per cent) and International Growth Portfolio (1.38 per cent).

As on June 30, the Indian promoters of HFCL held 17.81 per cent and foreign promoters had 9.09 per cent, while 15.7 per cent was held by public.