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Financial services conglomerate HDFC Ltd has enhanced its investments in government securities and public second bonds, even as it sold shares of many blue-chip companies including TCS, Wipro and Tata Motors.
The shares sold by HDFC also included those of Bajaj Auto, BHEL, L&T, Chambal Fertilisers, GSK Consumer, Rural Electrification Corp and GE Shipping, the company has said in its latest annual report for the fiscal 2012-13.
Besides, HDFC’s holding in equity shares of at least two companies, IL&FS and Siemens, came down during the year, the company has disclosed in its ‘non-trade investment’ portfolio.
The housing finance behemoth, which is also present in banking, insurance, mutual fund, real estate advisory and other financial sector businesses through its subsidiaries, at the same time acquired shares of companies like CARE, Grasim and BASF India during the last fiscal.
HDFC invests its surplus cash in equity shares, bonds and other instruments as part of its treasury operations to earn short-term or long-term financial returns, as also for strategic purposes (mostly in subsidiaries and group firms).
The company, however, said that its overall investments in equity shares fell marginally to 20.52 per cent in 2012-13, from 20.57 per cent in the previous year.
On the other hand, the investments in central government securities rose from 21.84 per cent to 23.13 per cent, and those in public sector and financial institution bonds rose from 24.85 per cent to 27.56 per cent.
The exposure to private sector bonds, however, fell from 15.49 per cent to 10.91 per cent, while investments in Certificates of Deposits fell from 3.26 per cent to 1.69 per cent.
During the last fiscal, HDFC exited its investments in debentures and bonds of entities like Andhra Cements, RIL, Deccan Chronicle and Development Credit Bank.
HDFC’s equity portfolio also includes shares in Axis Bank, Andhra Cements, Castrol, Development Credit Bank, EIL, Indian Oil, Infosys, ITC, M&M, Nestle, NMDC, ONGC, Reliance Industries, SBI and Tata Steel. Holdings of these shares remained unchanged during the last fiscal.
The company’s overall ‘non-trade’ investments in equity shares fell by about Rs 100 crore to Rs 772 crore in the fiscal. This included about Rs 400 crore in shares of listed companies and the remaining amount in unlisted firms.
These unlisted companies included Avantha Power, ARCIL, Career Launcher, Computer Age Management Services, Cibil, Feedback Ventures, Mahindra First Choice Wheels, NSE, Next Gen Publishing, OCM India, Ratnakar Bank and TVS Credit Services.
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