ABS-CBN shares hit 52-wk low bec. of frozen franchise bill

Shares of the media giant ABS-CBN Corp.  has slumped to a new 52^nd week low last week following the news that the 17^th Congress has frozen the bill seeking for the renewal of their franchise.

ABS-CBN’s stock price hit its lowest price of P16.80 last Friday before paring losses to end at P16.90.

The media conglomerate’s stock declined by 8.45 percent week-on-week from its P18.46 finish on June 7 and by 16 percent since the start of the year.

(photo credit to owner)

“ABS-CBN was heavily battered [in] the latter part of the week due to the” House of Representatives’ inaction on the franchise-renewal measure, Philstocks Financial Inc. research associate Japhet Louis Tantiangco explained.

“The selloff was accompanied by a spike in the volume of transactions, showing…that investors really feared the possible nonrenewal of the franchise,” he said.

Last week a newspaper report said that House of Representatives froze House Bill 4349, which sought to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise — set to expire on March 20, 2020 — by another 25 years. 

The frozen of the renewal bill means that the ABS-CBN would not e able to operate should congressmen in the 18th Congress fail to pass it.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has been quoted that he does not want to renew the franchise of the media giant, ABS-CBN being known a critic of the President.

“It could make a turnaround if it could still [get its franchise renewed]. But for that we’ll have to see if it makes progress in the [forthcoming] congress,” he added, saying “time is ticking for ABS-CBN.” Tantiangco explained

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Report from Manila Times