ONGC board approves follow-on share sale offer

State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp's board on Tuesday approved a follow-on share sale plan, but the company will file papers with the markets regulator only after it gets the greenlight from the government, its chairman said.

"This (offer date) is the job of the DoD (department of disinvestment). We are waiting for the communication. It all depends on the government," AK Hazarika told Reuters.
The company had hoped to launch the offer in July.
The offer, expected to raise up to USD 2.8 billion, has been delayed by several months as rising crude oil prices and consequently higher subsidy burden kept the state-run firm away from the market.
India raised diesel prices last week, which is likely to bring down the subsidy burden on state-run oil companies, including ONGC.
ONGC shares closed at Rs 284.80, 0.2% higher in a Mumbai market that rose 0.4%.