The initial public offering (IPO) for Mynt, the parent company of GCash, is scheduled to debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Oct. 20, with several brokers reporting oversubscribed allocations.
About 2.41 billion shares were reserved for domestic trading participants and local small investors, equivalent to 30 percent of the 8.03-billion-share base offer, Mynt’s offer period ran from Oct. 6 to 12.
Media has reported that the base offer comprised 1.61 billion primary shares and 6.42 billion secondary shares, worth about P53 billion at P6.60 each and that an overallotment option of up to 1.2 billion secondary shares could bring the total to 9.23 billion shares, making it the country’s largest IPO if fully exercised.
Mynt plans to allocate 60 percent of the primary proceeds to CreditTech (its lending monetization and wealth management services), 20 percent to product innovation and 20 percent to general corporate functions. Equally important, the IPO will give the public direct ownership in the country’s dominant digital financial services.
GCash users were given the opportunity to buy shares directly through the GCash app, specifically GStocks PH, a stock trading service offered through GCash by AB Capital Securities, with a minimum order of 100 shares.
The GCash IPO gave ordinary Filipinos a chance to participate in the stock market, manage and grow their wealth, and take a step toward financial freedom.
For many Filipinos, financial freedom remains an aspiration. Those with excess funds do not know what to do with them. According to the OECD’s Capital Market Review of the Philippines, 11 percent of the respondents cited insufficient financial knowledge as a barrier to investing. In comparison, another 11 percent said they had difficulty finding an appropriate investment product.
Participation in the Philippine stock market is also low. According to the BSP’s 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey, only one percent of the respondents with investments reported owning stocks.
Originally, the maximum indicative price for the GCash IPO was P10 per share until the final offer price was set at P6.60. This does not mean that GCash shares lost P3.40 per share in value. The P10 was only a starting point for the formal bookbuilding process, where underwriters tested actual investor demand before setting the final offer price. It was never a case of devaluation.
The good thing is that the lower nominal share price made investing in GCash shares more affordable.
Financial institutions continue to see significant value and growth potential in Mynt. Before the final offering price was announced, AB Capital Securities argued that the fintech company deserved a premium valuation because of its structural growth, established profitability and substantial room to monetize further its customer base (94 million registered users with 49 million daily active users). Morgan Stanley estimates that Mynt could generate up to P21.2 billion in net income this year.
The economy’s rapid digitalization, coupled with GCash’s established position in the country’s digital financial ecosystem, strengthens prospects for continued growth and potential investment returns.
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