UTI Strikes Back ; UTI AMC is set to become the first Indian asset management company to list on the stock exchanges. The once-beleaguered company has ridden the stock boom to turn around. The question now is: will listing change its future course?

When Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Bank of India,Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank were forced to pick up 100per cent stake in UTI AMC (asset management company) in September2005, the media and analysts were aghast. Most assumed that thegovernment was, as usual, throwing good money after bad. Very fewwould have dared to imagine that their investments would return1,000 per cent returns in just two years. But that's exactly howthings have panned out. Today, the market is valuing the AMC at upto Rs 12,000 crore--against the acquisition cost of Rs 1,237 crore.And that doesn't include the value of its real estate assets andother investments.

Now, the …