GCash IPO seen widening financial inclusion

The planned listing of GCash parent Mynt could help widen access to digital financial services in areas that remain underserved by traditional banks, as additional capital from the initial public offering (IPO) could support the platform’s expansion, according to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael L. Ricafort.

Ricafort said the potential expansion would be significant as more financial products move to digital platforms and become accessible to retail consumers.

“More funds for expansion and greater financial inclusion especially to more unbanked areas would be welcomed,” Ricafort said in a statement.

He said the growing use of digital financial services could make the Mynt listing a catalyst for broader financial inclusion, particularly as these platforms become more mainstream.

“Indeed [Mynt’s IPO] would be an important catalyst to further improve financial inclusion in the country with widespread use around the country becoming more mainstream in recent years and also for the coming years,” Ricafort said.

The analyst also pointed to the expanding range of financial products available to ordinary consumers through digital platforms.

“Amid increasing offering[s] of financial solutions, both traditional and innovative investment and other financial products at the retail level within reach by the ordinary Filipino,” he said.

Mynt is preparing for its planned Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) listing after the exchange approved its application. Ayala Corp. and Globe Telecom Inc. said Mynt received its Notice of Approval on 17 September.

The application covers up to 8.03 billion common shares, along with an overallotment option of up to 1.20 billion additional secondary common shares. The PSE approval came less than two weeks after Mynt received a pre-effective letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission for its proposed IPO.

Mynt has set a maximum indicative price of P10 per share. If the overallotment option is fully exercised, the offering could raise up to P92.32 billion in gross proceeds. The final offer price will be determined through the book-building and price-discovery process.

Reports have said Mynt is on track to price the shares below the P10 maximum, with some investors looking at a price of around P6.50 per share.

The same reports identified BlackRock, Capital Group and Schroders among global investment firms poised to participate in the offering, while the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private-sector investment arm, was also identified as a cornerstone investor.

Mynt is scheduled to finalize its IPO price on 1 October, followed by the public offering from 6 to 12 October and the expected PSE listing on 20 October.

The company has said it plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand its digital financial services, develop products and fund general corporate purposes.