The government has deferred its proposed 12,000 crore rupee share sale in state oil and gas explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) by at least two weeks due to unfavourable market conditions. In a statement to the stock exchanges, ONGC said,the follow-on public offer (FPO) was to open on September 20th, but has been put off. The company did not give new dates for the FPO.

AIR correspondent reports, the government plans to sell 5 per cent, or 427.77 million shares, through the offer. After the FPO, the government's stake in ONGC will come down to 69.14 per cent from the current 74.14 per cent.