Despite Hindenburg report, LIC increased stake in 4 Adani group companies in January-March quarter

LIC Investment in Adani Stocks: Despite the Hindenburg Research report released on January 24, 2023 regarding the Adani group and the sharp criticism of the government insurance company regarding LIC’s investment in the group’s company, it has not affected LIC. LIC, the country’s largest government insurance company, has further increased its stake in four companies including Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of Adani Group.

Bought shares of Adani Enterprises

During the January to March quarter, LIC has bought 3,57,500 shares of Adani Enterprises. With this purchase, LIC’s stake has increased from 4.23 per cent to 4.26 per cent at the end of the January-March quarter. This information has come out from the data of the stock exchange.

Bought before or after Jan 24, 2023?

During this period, LIC has also increased stake in Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy and Adani Total Gas. However, during this period, LIC has worked to reduce its stake in Adani Ports and Ambuja Cements. There is no change in the shareholding of LIC in ACC. However, it is not clear whether LIC bought stake in Adani group companies before or after the release of the Hindenburg Report on 24 January.

LIC’s investment became a big political issue

LIC’s investment in Adani group companies had become a major political issue after the release of the Hindenburg Report. Leaders of several opposition parties, including former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, had accused LIC of playing with the money of the investors of the insurance policy. In January 2023, LIC issued a statement saying that it had bought shares worth Rs 30,127 crore from Adani group companies, which is less than 1 per cent of LIC’s total AUM.

Mutual funds reduced investment, retail investors increased

Mutual funds have reduced their exposure to Adani Enterprises from 1.19 per cent in the October-December quarter to 0.87 per cent in the January-March quarter. The number of mutual funds investors has come down from 31 to 27. However, there has been a three-fold jump in the number of retail investors investing less than Rs 2 lakh during this period. And this number has increased from 3 lakh to 7.29 lakh. In the December quarter, retail investors had a total stake of 1.86 per cent in the company, which has increased to 3.41 per cent.

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