Consing: GCash IPO not anytime soon

Money is definitely not an immediate problem for the Ayala Group.

Globe Telecom Inc. has signed a P3-billion term loan facility with its fellow member of the Ayala Group, Bank of the Philippine Islands, to support its capital expenditures, debt refinancing, and general corporate needs but its digital wallet affiliate Mynt is not rushing its much-awaited listing at the stock exchange.

In a stock exchange report on Wednesday, the company said the move aligns with the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance its network infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted access to digital services for its customers.

Ayala CEO Cezar Consing said in an interview with Japanese media said Mynt, the operator of GCash, has “no real need for the money right now.”

“You might as well wait for the appropriate condition,” he added.

GCash app now has 94 million users and offers various financial services, including QR payments, loans, equity investments, cryptocurrency, insurance, mobile credit and bill payments. When the pandemic struck in 2020, the popularity of the app surged as it rode the wave of cashless transactions.

Infusions from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mitsubishi Corp. sent Mynt’s valuation to $5 billion.

With the additional funding from BPI, Globe is expected to strengthen its infrastructure, paving the way for more reliable and consistent digital services to meet the growing demands of a digitally-connected Philippines.

Positive cash flow

Globe aims to achieve positive free cash flow while advancing its mission to provide equitable connectivity and empower communities to thrive in the digital economy.

As of the first nine months, Globe has invested P41 billion in capital expenditures, prioritizing 91 percent of the budget for data requirements.

The investment allowed the company to build 684 new cell sites, upgrade 2,723 mobile sites to LTE, and deploy 55,076 fiber-to-the-home lines, fortifying its fiber infrastructure.