Since the start of this year, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been net sellers in Indian markets as they turned to safety of rising bond yields amid heightened volatility in equity markets. Their apprehensions have made them sell shares worth Rs 2,17,44 crore so far this year.
This also came at a time when the markets have been tumultuous due to the Russia-Ukraine war which has disrupted global supply chains for everything—from wheat to crude oil—triggering a sharp spike in inflation globally.
Despite all this, data shows that the FIIs have slowly been increasing their stakes in 49 companies listed on the BSE 500 index.
Here are the top five companies where FIIs have increased stakes:
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC): The FII holding in the company has been consistently increasing since the last four quarters. At the end of the June quarter, they had increased their holding in the company to 22.64 per cent as compared to their 11.68 per cent stake during the same quarter last year.
GNFC has one of the world's largest single-stream ammonia-urea fertilizer complexes and is one of India’s leading entities engaged in the manufacturing and selling of fertilizers and industrial chemical products.
In the quarter ended March 2022, the company’s net profit more than doubled to Rs 643 crore from Rs 309 crore during the same period last year. Its net sales advanced 60 per cent to Rs 2,772 crore as against Rs 1,733 crore in the year-ago period.
Rain Industries: By the end of the June quarter, the FIIs had increased their stake in this South India-based cement maker (Priya Cement) to 15.7 per cent from 10.61 per cent during the corresponding period a year ago.
The company, which markets its product mainly in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is engaged in the business of carbon, cement and chemicals. It is the largest producer of calcined petroleum coke with a production capacity of 2.49 million tonnes per annum.
At the end of the March quarter, Rain Industries’ net profit came in at Rs 314 crore as compared to Rs 231 crore during the same quarter last year, marking an increase of 36 per cent. Its net sales during the period advanced 47 per cent to Rs 4,437 crore.
KEI Industries: The FIIs increased their stake in the company to 26.46 per cent at the end of the June quarter from the 18.09 per cent stake they held in the June quarter last year.
The Delhi-based company offers an extensive range of wiring and cable solutions. KEI manufactures and markets extra-high voltage, medium-voltage and low-voltage power cables.
KEI Industries’ net profit jumped 55 per cent at the end of first quarter of the current financial year to Rs 104 crore from Rs 67 crore in the year-ago period. Its net sales advanced 54 per cent to Rs 1,565 crore.
Saregama India: At the end of the June quarter, the FIIs had increased their stake to 17.3 per cent in India's oldest music label from the 7.36 per cent they held in the same quarter last year.
Saregama India is part of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group and is a multilanguage TV content producer which also operates film studios. Its net profit advanced 36 per cent to Rs 47 crore at the end of the March quarter and sales advanced 47 per cent to Rs 177 crore.
Brightcom Group: The FIIs have massively increased their stake in the company to 13.55 per cent at the end of June quarter from the measly 0.19 per cent stake they held in the June quarter of last year.
Brightcom Group is a digital solutions company which works in the ad-tech, new media and Internet of Things space. Its clients’ list includes leading blue chip advertisers like Airtel, British Airways, Coca-Cola, Hyundai Motors, ICICI Bank, ITC, ING, Lenovo, LIC, Maruti Suzuki, among others.
The company’s net profit jumped 59 per cent to Rs 223 crore at the end of the March quarter while its net sales advanced 77 per cent to Rs 1,240 from Rs 699 crore during the same period last year.
