Globe Telecom Inc. is setting its sights on data centers as its next major long-term growth driver, leveraging the momentum built by its e-wallet affiliate GCash.
Speaking during a virtual briefing on Monday, August 10, Globe Chief Finance Officer Juan Carlo Puno highlighted STT GDC Philippines as a key unit with high scaling potential that could eventually follow the initial public offering (IPO) path.
The telco views the data center arm as a primary growth venture amid surging enterprise demand fueled by rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Globe President and CEO Carl Cruz noted that demand is currently outpacing supply for the unit’s services.
“The team is working doubly hard to make sure the demand continues to be there. At the same time, we continue to ingest that particular demand for data centers,” Cruz said.
Demonstrating this rapid growth, STT GDC Philippines fully booked the capacity of its Level 1 data halls at its Fairview site during the first half of the year, with Level 2 commissioning underway and design work for Levels 3 and 4 already in progress. Once fully built, the STT Fairview facility will stand as the country’s largest data center, with an IT capacity of 124 megawatts (MW).
Growth is further expected to accelerate following Executive Order (EO) No. 119, which mandates local data residency for government data. To support this expansion responsibly, STT GDC Philippines recently contracted 40.5 MW of clean energy from Meralco’s MPower for its Fairview and Cavite sites.
“As we start to scale, we’re looking forward to also serving the increasing digital demands of the Philippines, and we’re looking to do so in a very sustainable and responsible manner,” said STT GDC Philippines President and CEO Carlo Malana.
STT GDC Philippines operates as a joint venture between Globe Telecom, Ayala Corporation, and Singapore’s STT GDC. Puno also identified tech service providers NCS Philippines and Brave Connective Holdings Inc. as potential future listing candidates.
Meanwhile, GCash parent firm Mynt is preparing for a planned October IPO valued at roughly ₱92.3 billion—potentially the largest in Philippine history. Mynt contributed ₱3.7 billion, or 28%, to Globe’s first-half net income.
Developing new business drivers remains critical for Globe after its first-half net profit declined 11% to ₱11.04 billion, down from ₱12.44 billion in the same period last year, due to elevated non-operating charges and rising administrative costs.
However, Globe remains confident in a second-half rebound, supported by record top-line revenues of ₱85.37 billion in the first six months.
“We do believe we should be able to leverage all of the momentum that we delivered in the first half to be able to turn that into upside to the second half of 2026, which should help buoy the bottom line performance from a full-year perspective,” Puno added.