DLF listing takes promoters' wealth to $21 bn

MUMBAI: The listing of the country's biggest real estate player DLF Ltd has pushed its promoters among the super-rich club with a total wealth of about $21 billion, in terms of their shareholding in the company.

K P Singh-led DLF shares on Thursday closed at Rs 570, putting the company's market value at about Rs 96,300 crore ($23.9 billion). Promoters, which include Singh and his family, hold an 88.24 per cent stake in the company, which was valued at about 85,000 crore at Thursday's closing price.

According to the US-based business magazine Forbes' list of richest people released in March, 75-year-old Singh was ranked as the world's 62nd and India's fourth richest with a net worth of $10 billion.

Mukesh Ambani was ranked as richest person in India with $20.1 billion, followed by Anil Ambani at $18.2 billion and Azim Premji at $17.1 billion.

However, the wealth of Ambanis and Premji is also estimated to have grown with the gains in the share prices of their group companies since then.

Domestic brokerage firm Emkay Share and Stock Brokers' research analyst Navin Jain said there was a lot of demand for DLF shares from many FIIs and various other funds.

He said the large interest in DLF shares could be gauged from the fact that over 10 crore shares were traded on Thursday on both the exchanges. As many as 7.80 crore shares were traded on NSE and over 3.42 crore shares changed hands on the BSE.

The company has become the eighth most valued company the bourses, ahead of ICICI Bank and State Bank of India. Only Reliance Industries, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Infosys, TCS and Reliance Communications have higher market capitalisation.