India’s Government Postpones ONGC's Follow-On Public Offering

India’s government has deferred its planned follow-on public offering (FPO) of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). No reason was given for the decision.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ONCG said, "The selling shareholder has decided not to proceed with the aforementioned Offer Program and shall evaluate its decision in relation to the offer in due course," Domain-B business magazine reported.

ONGC, the country's largest oil producer by output, filed its Red Herring Prospectus FPO on 5 September and intended to launch the offer on the BSE 20 September, with the offer closing three days later.

The Indian government, which holds a 74.14 percent stake in ONGC, had intended to sell a 5 percent stake in ONGC, according to media reports decided to delay the FPO, which had been predicted to raise around $2.5 billion, because of current poor market conditions.

The FPO was originally scheduled for March, but has already been postponed several times this year due to both the global recession and rising fuel prices.
 
Stock offerings of up to $4 billion in Indian Oil Corporation and a $1.8 billion stock sale in Steel Authority of India Ltd. were also deferred.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com