Government to sell 7.64 percent in National Fertilizer on Wednesday

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government will sell a 7.64 percent stake in state-run National Fertilizers Ltd on Wednesday through a share auction, disinvestment secretary Ravi Mathur told reporters.

The sale is part of the government's efforts to raise 400 billion rupees through stake sales in the current fiscal year. So far this year it has only raised about $140 million.

The government currently owns 97.64 percent in the fertilizer company. At the current market price, the stake sale would raise about $17 million.

Ahead of the offer, shares in National Fertilizer were trading 8.4 percent lower at 27 rupees. (Reporting by Nigam Prusty; Editing by Anand Basu)