(Oct 20): Mynt Inc, the operator of the mobile-payments app GCash, closed unchanged in its debut after the biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO) in the Philippines that the company said will bankroll growth through an expansion of lending and financial services.

The shares, the most-traded in Manila on Tuesday, rose as much as 2.4% in early trading before giving back the gains in the afternoon. Mynt sold 8.03 billion shares at 6.60 pesos apiece in the IPO, which raised 53 billion pesos (US$840 million or RM3.4 billion) to top noodle maker Monde Nissin Corp’s offering in 2021. The deal values Mynt at about 442 billion pesos, making it one of the 10 largest listed companies in the Philippines, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The fintech firm’s IPO, a rare play on the country’s expanding digital economy, drew cornerstone commitments from more than 20 investors, including BlackRock Inc, FIL Investment Management and Schroders. 

After the fundraise, Mynt is open to acquisitions and partnerships, president and CEO Martha Sazon said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin. The company sees lending and financial services for millions of Filipinos overseas as key growth drivers.

“It’s all about increasing penetration and everyday use cases so we become more relevant in Filipinos’ everyday lives,” Sazon said. In the space of a little over two decades, GCash has transformed from a text-based money-transfer service into an indispensable tool for Filipinos, more than 90 million of whom are registered users.

The enthusiasm surrounding the deal has raised some hopes for the broader market, which has been dominated by banks, property developers and conglomerates. Market watchers are keen to see whether a new-economy stock can help win back global funds, which are on track to sell Philippine equities for a ninth straight year.

The IPO shows that “the right fundamentals, right story, and right pricing can still materialise in the Philippines and attract the right kind of attention and participation from investors”, said Emuel Olimpo, head of equities investments at Metrobank in Manila.

Philippine stocks have struggled over the past decade due to structural challenges like limited market diversity and sluggish turnover. The country’s weight in MSCI Inc’s global emerging-markets index has shrunk to almost nothing while the MSCI Philippines Index has just nine members, with one port operator accounting for almost 45% of the benchmark.

“The timing of this listing is especially meaningful as our stock market needs renewed investor interest and broader participation,” Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said at the listing ceremony. “We recognise that investors have become cautious and that attracting fresh capital remains a challenge.”

The energy shock unleashed by the Middle East war has also weighed on local assets this year. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped to an 11-month low earlier in October while the peso has hit a record low. Foreign investors have sold about US$623 million (RM2.54 billion) of local shares in 2026.

Despite the underperformance, valuations offer little comfort for long-term investors. The MSCI Philippines gauge trades at about 9.5 times its one-year forward earnings, versus a multiple of nine times for the broader EM gauge, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The GCash IPO may attract attention, but restoring sustained foreign participation requires broader improvements in the country’s investment fundamentals,” said Ron Acoba, chief investment strategist at Trading Edge Consultancy in Manila.

A combination of a growing financial-services platform and demand from international institutions gives Mynt’s offering a profile that is largely missing from Manila’s traditional equity benchmarks. 

The company plans to use the proceeds from the share sale to expand its digital financial services, develop new products, and for general corporate purposes.

“The GCash IPO is a positive development for the Philippine equity market as it puts the country back on the radar of international investors, particularly those looking for exposure to fintech and digital financial services,” Acoba said.

Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane