MMTC pips ONGC in m-cap race

First scrip to top Rs 50,000 mark, gains over 1000% in August-November.

MMTC, the most valuable public sector undertaking (PSU), raced past oil exploration giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the market capitalisation (m-cap) ranking to occupy the number-two slot on Friday.

MMTC, with an m-cap of Rs 2,71,103 crore, pushed ONGC (m-cap Rs 2,64,953 crore) down by a slot to the third position in the market cap chart on BSE.

Reliance Industries (RIL), the private sector major, ranks first with an m-cap of Rs 3,97,675 crore.

Last Friday, the MMTC scrip closed 5 per cent or Rs 2,581.90 up from Rs 51,638.60 to Rs 54,220.50.

ONGC was marginally up by 0.16 per cent to close at Rs 1,238.75 against its previous day's close of Rs 1,236.80 on BSE.

MMTC, the first stock to cross the Rs 50,000 mark, has hit the upper limit of the circuit breaker several times in the last three-and-a-half months. The stock has appreciated by 1,097 per cent from Rs 4,530.64 on August 31 to Rs 54,220.50 last Friday.

The PSU stock, which ranked at number 40 on August 31, has gained 38 positions in the last three-and-a-half months. The m-cap of the company has risen by Rs 2,48,450 crore from Rs 22,653 crore during the same period.

MMTC, the largest non-oil importer in India, is a major global player in trading minerals and is the single largest exporter of minerals from the country.

The company is one of the two highest foreign exchange earners for India and a leading international trading company with a turnover of over $3 billion.

The stock is 32 per cent or Rs 1,27,597 crore away from the number-one position in the m-cap ranking.