The top executive of Colombia’s government-run telephone company ETB, whose share price was recently at a 33-month low, has resigned, according to a statement from the company.
“Fernando Carrizosa turned in his resignation for his position as president of ETB,” the company said, without providing further details, in a statement posted Saturday on the website of Colombia’s financial regulatory agency.
The board of ETB, which serves the capital city and is 87%-owned by Bogota’s City Council, sought unsuccessfully for two years to sell a majority stake in the company, saying the company is unable on its own to generate the funds needed to increase value to the company.
But the acting mayor of Bogota, Clara Lopez, said in July the company would no longer seek privatization, and its share price on the Colombian Stock Exchange has fallen 26% since that announcement. On Aug. 8, ETB shares closed at COP530, the lowest since November 2008.
While no reason was given for Carrizosa’s resignation, analysts at Colombia’s biggest brokerage InterBolsa said in a report Monday that “the troublesome search for a strategic partner could be the explanation for his departure.”
Discussions about what should be done with ETB have been a topic of discussion by candidates for mayor of Bogota, where elections are slated for October.
