Asset management industry sees changes in pecking order
Kolkata: The pecking order in the asset management industry is changing with a few of last year's toppers moving down and some smaller fund houses becoming bigger.

UTI Mutual Fund has maintained its number one position in 2005-06, while Reliance and DSP Merrill Lynch have gained significantly in terms of assets under management (AUM) on a year-on-year basis. Funds like Franklin Templeton and JM have lost ground to occupy lower positions.

According to the figures released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India for 2004-05 based on AUM figures, shows that the advances recorded by the asset management sector stand at over 50 per cent in the past year.

Most players have added significantly to their asset base, and a select few have actually ended up with 90-100 per cent growth.

Reliance MF has moved up from the sixth position in 2004-05 to occupy the second slot in 2005-06. The fund house, which had a little over Rs 9,500 crore in March 2005, now has well over Rs 24,000 crore under management representing a 150 per cent-plus increase.

DSP ML has moved up from the 13th position to the 8th while Standard Chartered has advanced from the 11th position to 7th and ABN Amro from 23rd to 18th while its growth in assets has been around 200 per cent.

Franklin Templeton has moved in the opposite direction. It ended the fiscal as the fifth largest entity after having assumed the No 2 position as on March 31, 2005. The fund nevertheless saw its AUM increase from roughly Rs 15,350 crore to about Rs 17,800 crore during the period under review.

JM MF, which was in the 14th place in 2004-05, has actually gone through a negative trend and has seen its position drop to 19. Its assets fell from approximately Rs 4,100 crore to about Rs 2,600 crore.
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Motilal Oswal to offload stake to foreign equity investors
Mumbai: One of the major Indian stock broking companies Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL), has offered 9.29 per cent of its stake to two foreign private equity investors — New Vernon Private Equity and Bessemer Venture Partners — for Rs 125 crore.

The issue price of each share of Rs 2 paid-up is Rs 208 per share, the company announced here on Wednesday.

The company says it will use the funds for various strategic initiatives, both organic and inorganic, and working capital requirements. The company has reserved 15 per cent for employee stock option scheme (of which about 14 per cent is already allocated) and the remaining stake is held by the promoters.
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China wants Indian cos to list on its bourses
Beijing: Beijing Equity Exchange Market (BEEM) wants Indian companies to list on its bourses. BEEM is a Government entity that identifies and sells state-owned Chinese companies as well as trades in the equity market.

A senior BEEM member suggested as such at a meeting organised by the Asian Capital Forum for a visiting CEO delegation led by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President, Saroj Kumar Poddar.

The member said this will not only allow Indian companies to participate in the Chinese equity market but also enable them to acquire Chinese companies put on the block.
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DLF readies for IPO
New Delhi: Real estate developer DLF has appointed five more book running lead managers including ICICI Securities, JM Morgan Stanley and UBS for the proposed mega issue slotted for a June launch.

Others are Citibank and Enam, in addition to Kotak Mahindra and DSP Merrill Lynch who would act as the global co-ordinators for the over Rs 11,000-crore IPO.

The company's land bank is currently valued at Rs 80,000 crore sprawled across Gurgaon, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar amongst other locations. Land bank refers to supply of potential development plots purchased and retained by builders, which allows them to construct on a continuous basis by moving on to the next plot as completion occurs on the current one.

The proceeds of the public offer would be utilised for funding the expansion plans of the company in residential, commercial office and mall projects, sources said.

The company's board of directors recently decided to change the name of the company from DLF Universal to DLF Ltd (subject to approval of the Central Government) and the firm has applied to the Registrar of Companies for availability of the new name. The RoC's approval is awaited, sources added.
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