FIIs up holding in infotech companies

38.72 million shares accumulated in quarter ended December 2003

Foreign institution investors (FIIs) accumulated 38.72 million equity shares of information technology (IT) companies in the quarter ended December 2003.

Of the 31 IT companies of which the shareholding patterns are available from the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE), FIIs have increased their stake in 28.

Their holding has fallen in three companies "" Geometric Software Solution, Soffia Software and Visualsoft Technologies.

In five companies "" Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computer, Digital GlobalSoft, Geodesic Information Systems and Hexaware Technologies "" the FII holding crossed the 20 per cent mark in the December quarter. In fifteen firms, FIIs have raised their stake by over 2 per cent.

FII holding in Infosys Technologies rose to 42.32 per cent in the December quarter, from 39.71 per cent in the September quarter. They bought 28.1 million shares of the company during the quarter.

In Satyam Computer Systems, FIIs holding crossed the 50 per cent mark "" from 49.50 per cent in September to 54.48 per cent at the end of the December quarter.

FIIs also bought an additional 6.9 per cent stake in midcap technology company, Geodesic Information Systems.

Their holding in the company increased from 15 per cent to 21.87 per cent in the December quarter. FIIs held just 8.41 per cent stake in the company in March 2003.

Among the FIIs, Lloyd George Investment Management (Bermuda) Ltd a/c LG India Fund held 3.19 per cent in Geodesic, while India Fund Inc held 4.03 per cent, GMO Emerging Markets Fund 3.99 per cent and OAI Mauritius Ltd - Savers India Fund 2.98 per cent at the end of the December quarter.

In Digital GlobalSoft, FIIs increased their stake by almost 5 per cent "" from 20.50 per cent to 25 per cent "" in the quarter.

Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana SA SVB bought additional 1.68 per cent stake in company during the quarter. Its holding increased from 2.35 per cent to 4.03 per cent.

JF India Fund, Copthall Mauritius Investment and GMO Emerging Markets Fund are the other FIIs that hold more than one per cent stake in the company at the end of December quarter.

In Hexaware Technologies, FIIs holding increased by 3.8 per cent from 17.16 per cent in the September quarter to 21 per cent at the end of the December quarter.

FII stake rose by 2.12 per cent to 18.93 per cent (16.81 per cent) in Hughes Software Systems, by 2.4 per cent to 11.70 per cent (9.34 per cent) in i-flex solutions, by 3.4 per cent to 9.50 per cent (6.14 per cent) in HCL Infosystems, by 2.7 per cent to 8.25 per cent (5.53 per cent) in HCL Technologies, by 0.79 per cent to 7.10 per cent (6.31 per cent) in e Serve International and to 3.95 per cent (0.15 per cent) in Ramco Systems. FIIs increased their stake in Wipro from 2.42 per cent to 2.69 per cent, and in CMC to 0.50 per cent (0.30 per cent).