PhilWeb owner to sell shares in Hail Mary bid to save business from Duterte

Gaming technology provider PhilWeb is throwing a Hail Mary pass in an attempt to save the company from the wrath of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

On Wednesday, PhilWeb was granted a 10-day suspension in trading of its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange due to “material uncertainties” affecting the company. The shares have lost four-fifths of their value since Duterte took office on June 30 and declared a war on online gambling.

Until Wednesday, PhilWeb provided gaming software to 286 eGames cafes operated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) but Duterte’s comments convinced PAGCOR not to renew PhilWeb’s license, leaving the company with no option but to ‘wind up’ its operations in the country, which is PhilWeb’s sole revenue source.

Late last week, PhilWeb chairman Roberto Ongpin resigned from the company after Duterte singled him out as an example of the ‘oligarchs’ the president wants to purge from positions of influence. But Ongpin’s exit failed to sway PAGCOR’s decision not to renew PhilWeb’s license.