2008: Figure it out

From the inflation highs to the Sensex lows, from the searing interest rates to the freeze in liquidity, the past year featured some of the most jarring figures in financial history. Here are some numbers that must have made you think.

5 BEST PERFORMING STOCKS 1. Hero Honda Motors 11.8% 2. Hindustan Unilever 9.9% 3. GlaxoSmithKline Pharma 9.8% 4. Sterling Biotech -2.5% 5. Colgate Palmolive -6.7% 5 WORST PERFORMING STOCKS 1. Asian Electronic -95.3% 2. Lok Housing -94.5% 3. IOL Netcom -94.2% 4. Orbit Corporation -94.2% 5. Prajay Engineers -94.0% Percentage change in stock prices from 1 January to 12 December 2008; shares of BSE 500 considered. Returns from gold: 20.15% Price change in crude oil: -54.46% From 1 Jan to 12 Dec 2008

STOCK MARKET

At Rs 29,59,269 crore, the market capitalisation of the Sensex touched an all-time high on 9 January 2008. The intra-day peak of 21,206 was the highest that the Sensex has ever touched. On 20 November, it fell to 8,451 points and the market cap plunged to Rs 12,72,330 crore.

The biggest ever IPO, the Reliance Power public issue, worth Rs 11,700 crore was released on 11 February, priced at Rs 450 a share. It listed at Rs 530 but closed at Rs 372, losing 17% on the first day. Despite a bonus of 3 shares for every 5 held, the losses are huge. Market price on 15 Dec: Rs 116.8. Loss: 49.8%.

The trading volumes of BSE 500 came down from 51.19 crore shares in July 2008 to 5.78 crore shares in October.

The number of IPOs that hit the markets: 38. The amount raised was Rs 18,553 crore.

MUTUAL FUNDSThere were 1,401 New Fund Offers (NFO), which collected Rs 1,03,640 crore. The biggest NFO in the history of the market was Reliance Natural Resources Fund, which was launched in February.

The AUM of the industry was Rs 5,48,828 crore in January. It fell to Rs 4,02,030 crore by end-November, a loss of Rs 1,46,798 crore.

A record 1,297 funds were launched in the FMP category, raising Rs 83,221 crore. This amounts to 80.3% of the total funds mobilised.

INSURANCE

Rs 39,686 crore was the premium collected by life insurers till October 2008. General insurers collected Rs 19,258 crore worth of premiums in the same period.

The number of new products launched by life insurance companies: 128.

Ulips generated over 80% of the life insurance business in 2007-8.

The life insurance industry is one of the biggest employment generators, with 25,04,353 agents working for it in 2007-8.

Over Rs 8,47,000 crore worth of assets were managed by life insurance companies in 2007-8.

PENSION

The New Pension Scheme has 3 lakh central government employees.

The amount in the scheme: Rs 1,700 crore.

The estimated corpus of the scheme: Rs 6,000 crore.

The number of fund houses managing the scheme: 3 (LIC Pension Fund, SBI Pension Fund and UTI Pension Fund).

BANKING

The home loan rates touched 14% in November 2008.

2.5 percentage points was the rise in fixed deposit rates from February to November 2008.

Rs 160 crore is the loss that the ICICI Bank’s UK subsidiary suffered in the first half of 2008-9.

REAL ESTATE

The costliest flat was sold at a jaw-dropping price of Rs 1.2 lakh per square foot. It is a three-bedroom one sold by Citibank in Mumbai to actor-turned-MP Vinod Khanna and his wife Kavita, who paid Rs 30 crore for it. Khanna already has another flat in the building. His neighbours include stockbroker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.