The value of pledged shares of 790 Indian companies touched a one-year high of Rs 1.42 lakh crore for the quarter ended September, a Morgan Stanley report said. The total value of pledged shares in the country rose 10 per cent in rupee terms on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The total number of companies which pledged shares stood at 790 at the end of the September quarter, down from 797 in the June quarter. The total number of companies with pledged shares was 800 at the end of the September 2011 quarter.

Healthcare and consumer staples companies witnessed the highest rise in share of pledging while the financial and technology companies saw the largest drop. The consumer-discretionary sector companies, followed by the materials sector, saw the highest pledging by promoters in terms of value. These sector companies also saw the most widespread promoter pledging.

Pledging in companies of the utilities and financial sector was highest as a percentage of market capitalisation. In terms of percentage of promoter holding, pledging was highest in companies of the energy sector and lowest for those in the technology sector.

During the September quarter, 311 companies reported lower pledging compared to the previous quarter, while 128 companies reported higher pledging. In 310 companies, the level of pledging has remained unchanged. Promoters of 15 companies increased their pledging by more than 25 per cent, while eight promoters brought down pledging by 25 per cent or more. Promoters of 254 companies have pledged more than 50 per cent of their holdings.

Of the Sensex 30 companies, nine companies reported pledges worth $2.8 billion.

Out of the 797 companies that reported pledging in June, 18 have revoked their full pledges on shares. An additional 38 companies reported fresh promoter pledging during September, said the report.

> sneha.p@thehindu.co.in

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