PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon speaks to the press after GCash’s bell-ringing ceremony on Tuesday.
Photograph by Maria Romero for the Daily Tribune
GCash parent Mynt Inc. has put the Philippines back in the spotlight of global investors after pulling off Southeast Asia’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) since 2021, defying weak market conditions and drawing strong international demand.
J.P. Morgan, which served as joint global coordinator and joint bookrunner, said the landmark offering was valued at up to P60.9 billion, or $970 million, assuming the full exercise of the overallotment option.
The transaction was also ASEAN’s largest technology, media and telecommunications IPO since 2021 amid the growing appeal of local digital businesses to international investors.
Mynt officially debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) under the ticker symbol GCASH, with its shares priced at P6.60 apiece.
“This is a significant milestone for the Philippines. It demonstrates that a high-quality Philippine digital business can attract strong global and domestic investor support while expanding investment opportunities in the country,” J.P. Morgan Philippines Senior Country Officer Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza said.
“As the largest IPO in Philippine history, this deal also marks an important step in the continued development of Philippine capital markets. We are proud to have led this landmark IPO and to continue supporting Mynt, Inc. across our banking franchise,” he added.
J.P. Morgan said nearly 200 institutional investors across Asia, Europe and the United States were engaged throughout the marketing process.
The order book was multiple times oversubscribed, attracting global long-only investors, sovereign wealth funds, domestic institutions and multi-strategy funds.
Strong demand came despite subdued market liquidity and challenging market conditions, boosting the Philippine equities market as it seeks to attract more major listings.
PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said Mynt entered the exchange with a market capitalization of P441.5 billion, or approximately $7 billion, making it the seventh-largest domestic listed company based on the previous day’s closing prices.
Monzon said 19 foreign and six domestic cornerstone investors subscribed to 59.8 percent of the offered shares, while non-cornerstone institutional investors accounted for another 21.9 percent.
Local trading participants also submitted orders for more than 2.65 billion shares against an allocation of 1.6 billion shares, equivalent to 165.5 percent of the allocation.
Retail participation was equally significant, with 140,725 GCash subscribers investing approximately P1.1 billion through the application.
Monzon described the listing as the culmination of a three-year effort to bring one of the country’s leading fintech companies to the exchange.
Mynt President and CEO Martha Sazon, meanwhile, said the company remains focused on extending financial services to Filipinos who continue to face barriers to traditional banking.
“Becoming a public company is not the finish line. The opportunity ahead is about how much more we can make possible for every Filipino,” Sazon said.
“It opens up more ways for us to reach those who are still unbanked and underserved,” she added.
Sazon said nearly 90 percent of GCash customers come from low- and middle-income households, reflecting the company’s focus on financial inclusion.
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