San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) recent ₱30-billion preferred share offering attracted strong participation from Filipino retail investors, with orders placed through GStocks PH surpassing the initial allocation provided by broker AB Capital Securities Inc.
The offering featured three preferred shares, each priced at ₱75. SMC2V had an annual dividend rate of 8.0401%, while SMC2W offered 8.3570% and SMC2X offered 8.6483%.
On GStocks PH, demand for SMC2V reached 3.1 times its initial allocation. SMC2W was oversubscribed by 1.3 times, while SMC2X recorded 1.7 times the initial allocation.
The response came as retail investors increasingly use digital platforms to access corporate share offerings. GStocks PH, the investment platform available through the GCash app, allows users to subscribe digitally to initial public offerings (IPOs) and follow-on offerings (FOOs) through AB Capital Securities.
For the SMC offering, GStocks PH displayed the broker’s initial allocation through a subscription meter, allowing investors to monitor available shares. Confirmed orders were fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis using the initial allocation.
Once that allocation was fully subscribed, investors could continue placing orders through the platform and later check their final share allocation after the offering period through the GCash app.
The digital setup simplifies several steps traditionally involved in participating in share offerings, which may require retail investors to coordinate directly with brokers and wait until the end of the offer period to learn their final allocation.
Fully verified GCash users who want to invest through GStocks PH can access the service through the Invest tab of the GCash app and open an investment account with AB Capital Securities. Opening the account does not require a bank account.
The strong response to SMC’s preferred share offering underscores the expanding role of digital investment platforms in giving retail investors easier access to investment opportunities and the Philippine capital markets.