GCash Parent Mynt Makes Record-Breaking $1 Bn IPO Debut

The parent company of Philippine digital payments giant GCash made its stock market debut in Manila on Tuesday after raising almost $1 billion in a record-breaking initial public offering (IPO). Analysts said Mynt’s listing could significantly raise the fintech profile of the Philippines, where more than 40 percent of the population still has no traditional bank account.

GCash has more than 40 million monthly active users in the country and offers payments, credit, savings and bill management through its widely used phone app. Mynt’s shares opened 0.6 percent higher at 6.64 pesos (11 cents), from a listing price of 6.60 pesos.

Cristina Ulang, head of research at First Metro Investment Corporation, said the listing was a boost for the Philippine economy and stock market. “This is a big IPO. In terms of our position in ASEAN or in the whole of (the) Asia fintech landscape, we are now going to be on the map,” she said. “We used to be invisible.” “GCash and Mynt are going to be the barometer of the Philippine digital economy,” she added.GCash users can also trade stocks through GStocks PH, a service offered on the app by AB Capital Securities. Stock exchange president Ramon Monzon said about 140,725 GCash subscribers, many of them first-time investors, used the app to put about 1.1 billion pesos into the IPO.

President Ferdinand Marcos, who attended the market opening, praised the access given to small shareholders, while acknowledging that attracting fresh capital to the country had been a challenge. “The timing of this listing is especially meaningful, as our stock market needs renewed investor interest and broader participation,” he said.