Refineries units gush wealth for investors

 Refinery stocks were the biggest wealth creators in the current boom in the stock markets, with the market capitalisation of the eight public sector refineries gaining Rs 75,875 crore between April 1 and November 24, 2003.

 The biggest gainers in the lot were Bongaigaon Refineries (BRCL) and MRPL. The BRCL scrip appreciated 481 per cent while MRPL gained 450 per cent.

 The Kochi Refineries scrip went up by 210 per cent, Chennai Petrochemicals (up 143 per cent) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 132 per cent) are the among the biggest gainers in the sector.

 Analysts, however, feel the sector continues to quote at a substantial discount to intrinsic valuations, despite superior return on equity (RoE) driven by the de-regulation of the sector.

 Analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities expect the sector