LIC, Singapore Govt hike stake in Reliance Industries in June quarter

State-run insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)  and Government of Singapore have hiked their stake in Reliance Industries with the purchase of shares worth over Rs 1,550 crore during the past quarter.

LIC increased its stake in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) from 7.09 per cent to 7.77 per cent during the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

During the same period, the Government of Singapore also raised its RIL holding marginally from 1.06 per cent to 1.22 per cent.

At the current market price, the additional shares purchased by LIC during the quarter are worth about Rs 1,450 crore, while that of Singapore government is worth about Rs 100 crore.

LIC's holding in RIL now stands at about 25.2 crore shares – rising by close to two crore in April-June quarter, while Singapore government's RIL holding has risen by more than 15 lakh shares to 3.94 crore during the period.

On the other hand, the holding of another major non-promoter shareholder, Franklin Templeton Investment Funds, in the company declined marginally by 4.26 lakh shares (worth about Rs 31 crore) to 1.22 per cent.

The promoter holding in RIL rose by 0.4 per cent to 45.15 per cent during the quarter. The total FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) holding in RIL, however, declined from 17.55 per cent to 17 per cent, as they sold shares worth an estimated Rs 1,300 crore.

At the same time, the overall holding of DIIs (Domestic Institutional Investors) rose from 10.71 per cent to 11.2 per cent.

RIL shares closed 0.70 per cent lower on Friday on the Bombay Stock Exchange at Rs 722.6, ahead of the company’s first quarter results scheduled for Friday evening. The BSE’s benchmark Sensex also closed 0.70 per cent lower at 17158.44 points. The company currently has a total market valuation of close to Rs 2,37,700 crore.