The holding of foreign institutional investors in five public sector companies, in which the Centre had sold its stake, has more than doubled in the March 2004 quarter. 
 
As per the shareholding pattern filed with the stock exchanges, FII holding in five of the six firms in which the government had sold its stake through the book-building route has increased by 5-17 per cent during the quarter. 
 
The five companies are CMC, Dredging Corporation, GAIL India, Indian Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. IBP, the sixth company, is yet to file its share holding pattern with the stock exchanges. 
 
FIIs had accumulated shares in most of these stocks before the beginning of the public offer. Their aggregate holding in five companies increased to 22.84 crore (228.4 million) shares in the March quarter from just 5.66 crore (56.6 million) shares in December. 
 
FIIs purchased 1.53 crore (15.3 million) shares of IPCL, 1.94 crore (19.4 million) shares of GAIL and 200,000 shares of Dredging Corporations during the March quarter. 
 
Their holding in IPCL increased by 16.89 per cent to 18.98 per cent at the end of March 2004 quarter from 2.09 per cent in the December 2003 quarter. The government had sold a 28.94 per cent stake (718,000 shares) in the company, while FIIs were allotted a 10.72 per cent (266,000 equity shares) stake. 
 
FII holding in GAIL increased by 6.18 per cent to 10.86 per cent in March from 4.68 per cent in December. Of the 10 per cent that the government sold in the company, FIIs were allotted 3.88 per cent shares. 
 
In ONGC, FIIs' stake increased by 5.27 per cent to 6.09 per cent in March from just 0.82 per cent in December, The government had made an open offer of 14.30 crore (143 million) equity shares at Rs 750 per share. 
 
FIIs' holding in the Tata group company CMC jumped up by 6.89 per cent to 7.39 per cent in March from below 1 per cent in December and in Dredging Corporation from nil in December to 5.40 per cent at the end of the March quarter.