SKINDIA INDIAN GDR MONITOR Volume VI No 50 Dec 10-Dec 16, 1999 17-Dec-99 Choppy Markets - Skindia GDR Index down GDR markets were quite volatile this week. Y2k concerns finally seem to be catching on. After having started the week on a reasonable footing, the markets turned bearish mid week on sustained profit selling by investors. But after a slide of 7.84% in Skindia GDR Index till Dec 15, the markets staged some recovery on bargain buying, and the week finally ended with a net loss of 5.31% in Skindia GDR Index. The scene in the domestic bourse too was no different. Declining Foreign fund inflows and the overdue price correction brought the domestic markets tumbling down. Limited institutional interest and huge carry forward positions forced the speculators to trim their positions and by Dec.15 sensex had shed 3.59%. The software scrips suffered the most since huge build ups were mainly in these scrips. In line with US Nasdaq the domestic markets also staged recovery on Dec 16 but the recovery was again confined mainly to the information technology stocks. Over the week the Skindia GDR Index & BSE sensex oscillated in a band of 9.26% & 3.72% with the Skindia GDR Index & the BSE sensex losing 57.33 points & 128.67 points respectively. The average spreads of the 41 most actively traded DRs rose to 9.22% on Dec 16 from 8.42% on Dec 09 and the average premiums of the 66 DRs fell down to 5.33% on Dec 16 from 9.42% on Dec 09. In the week the 66 depository receipts lost 1.38% while the underlying shares gained 3.28%. Finance sector was the top gainer in the DRs with a rise of 17.62% followed by cement and pharma gaining 2.54% and 1.68% respectively. The top losers were the telecom, aluminium and cable sectors falling 8.44%, 7.31%and 6.22% respectively. On the other hand in the underlying shares the top gainer was again the finance sector gaining 33.47% followed by textiles gaining 13.56% and IT sector gaining 8.81% . Telecom, steel and hotel sectors were the top three losers shedding 8.26%, 6.23% and 2.22% respectively. ICICI Ltd : Ever since ICICI the leading financial institution from India got listed on the N.York Stock Exchange, its ADR has consistently been making new highs. On 22nd Sept the first day of its listing its ADR opened at $11-11.25, a hefty premium over its offer price of $9.80 and has further gained ground since then. It has gained 47.07% from Sep.22 till date. On Dec.16 before closing at $16.25 it touched its all time high of $19, experiencing a major jump of 17.55% over its closing price of Dec.15. Its subsidiary ICICI Bank lately announced that it would be setting up an internet banking unit with Satyam Infoway distributing its retail banking products. Although in Q1 of the FY 1999 ICICI GDR recorded a gain of 66.80%, it slowed down in Q2 with a marginal gain of 8.16% but regained momentum in Q3 gaining 37.41% till date. DISCLAIMER : Factual material is obtained from sources believed to be reliable and SkindiaFinance is not responsible for any errors and omissions contained herein. Any recommendation contained in this report may not be suitable for all issuers.