Portugal Telecom shares plunge in value amid fraud investigation, extending stock price fall

Portugal Telecom shares have fallen sharply on the Lisbon stock exchange, a day after authorities said they were investigating possible fraud at the company.

The PT SGPS stock price dropped by more than 9 percent to a record low of 0.73 euros ($0.86) in morning trading Wednesday.

The company's stock price has lost around 80 percent of its value over the past 12 months, with most of the losses coming after the revelation that PT lent almost 900 million euros (nearly $1.1 billion) to a company that went bankrupt. Prosecutors wouldn't provide details of the fraud investigation, but it is believed to be linked to that loan.

Telecom was once one of Portugal's biggest companies. It is now owned by Brazil's Oi, which is trying to sell it.