• Fidelity, Aberdeen drawn to gas retailers as India cleans up

    Fidelity Investments and Morgan Stanley Investment Management have increased exposure to Indian city-gas retailers, as Prime Minister emphasis on clean fuels burnishes the outlook for the industry. The demand from investors has been so strong that Indraprastha Gas Ltd., which supplies to homes and vehicles in New Delhi, raised the cap on foreign ownership to 30 percent from 24 percent, and may increase it again, Managing Director E.S. Ranganathan said.

    India’s largest city gas distributor Gujarat Gas Ltd., where Aberdeen Asset Management Plc. is the biggest non-state investor, and Mahanagar Gas Ltd. have also seen an increase in offshore holdings. “Foreign investors who were investing in China are now looking more on India,” Ranganathan said. “Everyone has an India fund or an Asia fund or South Asia fund and these funds are investing in Indian city gas networks. When our market cap went above $2 billion, lots of funds started looking at us . ..

    India’s gas demand is about a fifth of China’s due to weak domestic supply and poor infrastructure, though the government is trying to change this, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said last year the nation will lay 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles) of gas pipelines over five years. Modi, who championed natural gas as the chief minister of Gujarat state, has stepped up measures to improve air quality in cities by giving priority to distributors such as Indraprastha gas for accessing cheaper local gas.

    Offshore holdings in Indraprastha Gas climbed to nearly 25 percent as of March 31, from about 21 percent a year ago, according to data available with the exchanges and compiled by Bloomberg. Fidelity acquired 579,367 shares, while Morgan Stanley Investment added 292,598, according to the most-recent exchange filings. Both fund managers didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment.  Jarran Reed Womens Jersey

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