Foreign investor holding in Reliance Industries rises to record 27.2% in Q2

Foreign investor holding in billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has risen to a record high of 27.2 per cent in the quarter ended September 30, according to a regulatory filing by the company.

Reliance Industries (RIL) on Thursday filed a statement showing the shareholding pattern for the quarter ended September 30.

The statement showed foreign portfolio investors holding 165.8 crore shares or 25.2 per cent of the total shareholding.

In the previous quarter ended June 30, foreign investors held 163.07 crore shares or 24.72 per cent.

Besides, qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) held another 2.05 per cent stake at the end of September 30, 2020, taking the total to 27.2 per cent.

In an investor note, JP Morgan said, "FII ownership of RIL hit new highs and stood at 27.2 per cent, up 60 bps quarter-on-quarter."

"As has been the case now for two years, FII's stakes in RIL hit new highs and increased by 60 bps q/q. Surprisingly, mutual funds' (MF) stake declined by 25 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (q/q) and was the second straight quarter of stake decline," it added.

The last time domestic MFs reduced their holding in RIL over two straight quarters was back in 2016, it said, adding domestic mutual funds held 5.12 per cent of RIL as of September 30, down from 5.37 per cent in the previous quarter.

Reliance is the only Indian energy sector company where FIIs have raised stake in the last couple of quarters, while they reduced their holding in oil marketing and gas companies.

Promoters have also upped their stake in RIL to 50.49 per cent from 50.37 per cent.

Since April 2020, RIL share price has doubled as it went on to raise over Rs 152,000 crore in Jio, Rs 53,124 crore in a rights issue, over Rs 37,700 crore in Reliance Retail, and Rs 7,600 crore from BP for their fuel retailing partnership.

This record fundraising of over Rs 2.5 lakh crore helped the company achieve net-debt-free status with a robust balance sheet.