The many benefits of abolishing face value

Outstanding companies, which retail investors ought to be buying, steadily improve their profits over time

Just one share of MRF, a blue-chip listed tyre company, is trading at more than Rs 78,000. This makes a mockery of “public listing” because it is mainly institutional investors which can buy a share with such a high unit value. MRF is an extreme example because this Rs 18,000-crore turnover company has refused to issue bonuses or split its shares for the past 30 years at least. Regular bonuses and splits would have brought the unit value down maybe to a low four-digit figure. But that would still not solve a huge problem that has been growing over the