SBI may defer $4.5 bn rights share sale: Report

State Bank of India may have to defer a planned $4.5 billion rights share issue to the next financial year as a cash-starved government, its biggest shareholder, is unable to put in money, a newspaper reported today.

State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, may have to defer a planned $4.5 billion rights share issue to the next financial year as a cash-starved government, its biggest shareholder, is unable to put in money, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

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"It will be difficult to take out funds in the current financial year," a senior finance ministry official told the newspaper.

A decision would be taken soon after taking into account the government's finances and the bank's need for funds, the paper said.

State Bank of India officials were not immediately available for comment on the report. A senior bank executive had said last month it expected to launch the rights offering in the June quarter.

The government was expected to inject up to 150 billion rupees ($3.3 billion) through the rights issue.