HDFC joins Rs 2-lakh crore m-cap club; hits new high

Shares of Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) is continued their its upward march on the bourses, with the market value of the country's largest mortgage financier company crossing the Rs two lakh crore mark today.

HDFC scrip gained 2.6% to Rs 1,284 on BSE, taking its market value to Rs 2,01,726 crore at 1041 hours, the BSE data shows.

The company is at the tenth positions in overall market capitalization (m-cap) ranking, joins ICICI Bank, Coal India, State Bank of India (SBI), Infosys, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC, ONGC and TCS which have m-cap of more than Rs 2 lakh crore each.

HDFC stock hit a record high of Rs 1,296 in intra-day trade on BSE today, rallied 16% from Rs 1,120 on January 14, 2015, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a surprise move on Thursday cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75%.

HDFC has surpassed the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in overall m-cap ranking, which is at 11th position with m-cap of Rs 196,094 crore, data shows.

Meanwhile, Moody's Investors Service says that the housing policies initiated by the new Indian government will encourage growth in India's mortgage finance sector and provide a catalyst for the development of the country's emerging residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) market, but the tax environment may hamper some investor participation.

Housing finance companies are expected to grow their loan books by 20%-22% in 2015 and will need as much as Rs 200,000 crore (US$31.4 billion) in incremental funding, the agency said in a report.

HDFC Bank