PhilWeb shares plunge

MANILA - Shares of PhilWeb continued to plunge on Monday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte singled out its chairman Roberto Ongpin as an oligarch that must be "destroyed."

PhilWeb shares plunged another 33 percent in morning trade. Its shares dropped 37 percent on Thursday.

Luis Limlingan, head of research at Regina Capital, advised investors to stay on the sidelines for now and wait for more clarity from the President.

"It seems Mr. Duterte is against online gaming as a whole. So stay away, given the fact that PhilWeb has fallen sharply, there's still room to still bottom at this point, so wait and observe...This stock is going to be driven by news, at this point, rather than performance of the company," he told ANC's "Market Edge with Cathy Yang."

PhilWeb earlier said Ongpin resigned to "save the company." It added that e-Games is not online gaming.



It said access to these clubs is strictly controlled. It also warned that closing down the business will affect 5,000 employees, and deprive the government of over P2 billion in revenues for Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

PhilWeb shares are little traded, non-index issues. It is trading at a 20-month low.

In his first Cabinet meeting in June, Duterte asked PAGCOR to stop issuing licenses to online gaming firms.

PhilWeb said it has requested PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo for a meeting to clarify the situation.

PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes said the company wishes to explain its side, noting that President Duterte "may have been misinformed."

"As a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange, our records are fully open to public scrutiny and are available for a full investigation at any time," Valdes said in a statement.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sen. Osmena '110 percent' convinced of Mike Arroyo's hand in 'behest loan' to Ongpin

MANILA – Senator Sergio Osmena III on Wednesday said former first gentleman Mike Arroyo had ordered the former president of a state-owned bank to endorse a P660-million loan to businessman Roberto Ongpin in 2009.

"I am 110 percent convinced that FG Mike Arroyo controlled Rey David," Osmena, who chairs the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said, referring to Reynaldo David, president of state-run Development Bank of the Philippines during the previous administration.

Osmena said at least two witnesses would face the committee and attest to Arroyo’s involvement in negotiations for the loans.

"You always want to be sure but you want to protect your witnesses also, and their families," the senator, a member of President Benigno Aquino III’s Liberal Party, said. Osmena said the search for evidence to pin down Arroyo, David and Ongpin – a former trade minister during the Marcos administration – was difficult.

"I have not established this on paper. I have information, but I have not come up with the evidence yet. You'll not see his name. He has had smart lawyers," the senator said, referring to Arroyo.

Osmena said the Senate committee is convinced that the loan DBP extended to Ongpin for the acquisition of a stake in Philex Mining Corp. was anomalous.

"Nothing is wrong with buying or selling Philex shares, but what we are objecting to is the use of government money to award a crony," the senator said.

He said DBP officials cannot deny that the bank waived 10 requirements when Ongpin secured the loan, including P150 million in April 2009 and P510 million thereafter. Osmena said the usual practice is to waive at most two requirements.

He said DBP also allowed the use of shares in Philweb Corp. as collateral for the loans – a practice prohibited by the country’s banking laws.

The senator said the committee is drafting a report, adding that another set of loans involving the Metro Rail Transit would be discussed in August. In this regard, the committee would look into the liability of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

For its part, the BSP is awaiting the committee report.
"The BSP policy is the directors and officers of any bank should always be fit and proper. There are standards. In the ultimate and in general, if there is an officer that is found not fit and proper, the BSP may initiate disqualification from the board," said Deputy Gov. Nestor Espenilla Jr.

If David were shown guilty of the accusations made during the Senate committee hearings, then he would have to be barred from joining a board of any bank, Espenilla said.

"On the basis of facts and inquiries not just with us, but SEC and the Office of the Ombudsman, we will have to appreciate all these. We await the findings as well," he said.

source: interaksyon.com