Mumbai: Investor wealth, as measured by BSE market capitalisation, surged by about Rs 85 lakh crore in 2023, of which Rs 16 lakh crore — or nearly a fifth of the overall gain — came from state-owned companies.
The combined market of 65 odd public sector undertakings jumped by 45% in 2023 in line with the upsurge in the broader market. The market value of these PSUs, where the President (on behalf of the government) is either the majority owner or owns a substantial stake, increased by Rs 15.8 lakh crore to Rs 50.5 lakh crore, data from Refinitiv showed.
In comparison, among large private sector business houses, Aditya Birla Group’s market value increased by 38%, Tata Group’s by nearly 32%, Bajaj Group’s 23%, Reliance Industries’ by a marginal 1.6%, while Adani Group, thanks to the Hindenburg Research report, saw 29% wealth erosion.
The PSUs operate in a diverse set of sectors that include energy, insurance, power, railways, banks, ship-building and ports.
In 2023, the biggest addition to the PSU market cap was by NTPC. It made its shareholders richer by Rs 1.4 lakh crore with its current market value stands at nearly Rs 3.1 lakh crore. The power sector giant was followed by LIC that added Rs 93,547 crore to its market value which is at Rs 5.3 lakh crore.
Coal India stood third as India depends on coal to fire its power plants and several other industries amid a global move towards cleaner sources of energy. The 67% jump in Coal India’s stock price also translated to a Rs 93,026-crore addition to its market value to Rs 2.3 lakh crore now, the data showed.
In NTPC, the President held 51.1% stake while in LIC, it was 96.5%. The stake in Coal India stands at 63.1%, shareholding data as of September-end, disclosed to the BSE, showed. In terms of market value, SBI tops the table among PSUs with a market cap of Rs 5.7 lakh crore. However, despite a rally in most PSU banks in 2023, the leader in the pack barely moved.
Compared to 18-19% gains in the sensex and Nifty, and a 12% rise in BSE’s banking index, SBI gained less than 5% during the year. This translated to a market cap addition of Rs 25,301 crore. In SBI, the President holds 57.5% stake, BSE data showed.
