The Hindu Business Line : ICICI Prudential Infrastructure

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund seeks to invest in sectors such as cement, power and construction as also in banks, which aid infrastructure building. With stocks in the construction space losing steam over the last quarter, the fund made the following changes to its portfolio over January-March.

The banking sector took the top slot, pushing metals to second place. Holdings in construction stocks nearly halved, from 13.2 per cent of the assets in December 2006 to 7 per cent this March. That the fund remained optimistic on the engineering sector was evident as its holdings in the segment were unchanged.

Banking heavyweights ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India were added to the fund's basket while holdings in Punjab National Bank nearly doubled. Bank of Baroda was, however, sold. Among the fund's holding in metals, Tata Steel exited the portfolio, and Hindalco Industries and Sesa Goa were also considerably pruned. Steel Authority of India was, instead, propped up and Sterlite Industries added afresh.

Quite a few construction stocks lost sheen over the quarter. Even as the Budget proposals promised substantial investments in the infrastructure sector, removal of certain tax incentives was not viewed too favourably in the market. While the fund's holdings in this sector decreased considerably as a result of a fall in stock prices, the fund remained optimistic on the sector's prospects as it added new stocks. Hindustan Construction and ITD Cementation moved out, even as Gammon India and Nagarjuna Construction were bought. Shares held in Jaiprakash Associates fell by 65 per cent.

In the capital goods segment, the fund accumulated Siemens and ABG Heavy Industries and instead booked profits in Larsen & Toubro. The fund appeared to hold a cautious view on telecom. Of the two stocks it held, it exited MTNL while pruning holdings in Bharti Airtel. In the energy space, NTPC was sold. Shares in Tata Power, however, surged by over 80 per cent. Similarly, in the oil and gas sector, further buying in Reliance Industries added to the weight in this segment, while Bharat Petroleum was sold.

As of March, the fund held 8 per cent in Nifty Futures as against none in December. This may signal the fund's cautious stance. ICICI Prudential Infrastructure's asset size grew marginally by 3 per cent to Rs 1,583 crore over the three months ended March.

Vidya Bala

More Stories on : Mutual Funds | Mutual Funds | Portfolio Moves

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page