Thursday, February 14, 2008

Heard on the Street

Heard on the Street
15 Feb, 2008, 0046 hrs IST,

Shipping cos set sails once again

Post-turmoil, there was some reprieve for Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) over the past few days. Investors flocked to the counter on hopes of an improvement in international dry bulk rates, which is also reflected in some recovery in the Baltic Dry Index.

Rates fell sharply since November last year, as supply of bulk commodities like iron ore and coal from countries like Australia, Brazil and South Africa was adversely affected amid fears of the US slowdown, say analysts. The SCI stock was among the biggest gainers in the BSE’s A-group, jumping 8.2% to Rs 213 on Thursday.

The gain offers relief to investors who lost over Rs 100 amid a sinking market in the past one month. The rally was evident across shipping stocks. Among large players, GE Shipping gained 1.7% while Essar Shipping was up 2.8%. Shreyas Shipping was the biggest gainer among the lot, ending nearly 13% up. Varun Shipping and Mercator Lines rose 4.6% and 4.5%, respectively on Thursday.

Finmin helps keep bourses on their toes

The finance ministry’s proposal that promoters of listed entities will have to bring down their stake to 75% or face delisting has brought stock exchanges into focus. According to market buzz, the exchanges are busy preparing the list of companies where promoters are still holding more than 75%. Interestingly, this is not the first time that the exchanges are working on such a list.

A similar list was prepared based on the September shareholding pattern that included around 180 companies. However, the fresh list is on account of the finance ministry proposal that calls for the removal of all exemptions from Clause 40A of the Listing Agreement that pertains to the minimum promoter holding. Earlier, it was said that certain entities, including PSUs, will be granted an exemption.

E.T

No comments: