Mynt IPO tracked as major ECM event

MANILA, Philippines — The upcoming initial public offering of GCash’s parent company is being tracked by an independent Asia-Pacific equity capital markets (ECM) research firm, placing the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-approved listing among significant regional equity-market transactions being watched by investors.

Aequitas Research specializes in independent research on initial public offerings and share placements across the Asia-Pacific region, providing an investor perspective separate from investment banks directly involved in an IPO. 

The research firm’s monitoring is significant because the Mynt Inc. offering is expected to be one of the largest equity transactions in Philippine market history, with up to 8.03 billion shares to be offered at a maximum price of P10 apiece.

The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved Mynt’s listing application, with the final offer price scheduled to be determined on October 1 following the book-building process, the public offer set from October 6-12, and the tentative listing scheduled for October 20 under the ticker symbol GCASH. 

In simple terms, the significance of Aequitas’ attention to the transaction is that the GCash IPO is being viewed not only as a large Philippine corporate fundraising exercise but also as an equity-market event with relevance to investors beyond the country.

For the Philippine capital market, however, one of the most important questions is not only how much money Mynt can raise but how many Filipinos the IPO can bring into the stock market as actual shareholders.

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon has said the availability of IPO subscription through GStocks in the GCash app could result in a significant increase in new retail investors. 

This is important because retail investors are reportedly ordinary individuals who buy shares using their own money, rather than large institutions such as investment funds, banks or insurance companies.

In layman’s terms, the GCash IPO could make the stock market more accessible to people who already use the GCash app for everyday financial transactions but have never owned shares in a publicly listed company.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has similarly said the size and reach of Mynt’s offering could help deepen retail participation and bring more Filipinos into the capital market as investors and shareholders, rather than remaining only users of financial services.

This potential is particularly relevant because GCash already has a large consumer base, while its GStocks service has introduced stock-market investing to users through a digital platform.

The importance of the IPO to the broader capital market, therefore, may ultimately extend beyond the performance of Mynt shares after listing.

If more first-time investors become familiar with buying and owning shares, the transaction could help expand the country’s pool of retail investors and make equity ownership a more familiar form of long-term investment.

At the same time, greater retail participation also requires stronger investor education and consumer protection, particularly because first-time investors may be unfamiliar with IPO procedures and could become targets of fraudulent offers and online scams.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center has already raised concerns about possible fake IPO websites, fraudulent social-media accounts, bogus agents, phishing messages and other schemes targeting people who may be buying stocks for the first time.

For the Philippine capital market, the Mynt IPO therefore represents two related opportunities: the ability of the local exchange to accommodate a large technology-company offering and the possibility of bringing a much wider segment of the public into formal equity investing.

The PSE has said the listing could also encourage more fintech and digital-economy companies to consider raising capital through the equities market. 

The ultimate measure of the IPO’s broader market impact, however, will depend on actual investor participation, the final offer price, trading performance after listing and whether new investors remain active in the market beyond the Mynt offering.

For now, the Aequitas Research attention adds another indication that the GCash IPO is being viewed in the context of the wider Asia-Pacific equity-capital market, while Philippine regulators and the PSE are looking at its potential to broaden participation in the country’s own capital market. (Contributed story)