The New Age newspaper has postponed its launch until next month, its editor Vuyo Mvoko announced on its website.

The decision was taken after an "exhaustive review of its readiness to launch", he said in a statement posted on www.thenewage.co.za on Tuesday evening.

"This delay, while unfortunate, is necessary and will help us deliver a newspaper worthy of our potential readers."

"It has proved harder to put the systems and people in place to deliver on provincial coverage than we originally anticipated," said Mvoko.

"We have also purchased some of the latest editorial software and other technologies, much of it new to the South African scene.

"These will need to be tested extensively and over a period of time to guarantee our ability to produce consistent quality on a daily basis.

"We also have to train our staff on the use and management of our new systems."

The new daily, owned by TNA Media, was initially scheduled to launch in mid-September, but this has been postponed to October 20.

TNA's executive chairman is Atul Gupta, while former minister in the presidency Essop Pahad is a director and senior adviser and former Anglo American SA CEO Lazarus Zim is a director.