Mynt, the digital fintech heavyweight behind the ubiquitous GCash e-wallet, is eyeing a valuation of between ₱280 billion and ₱450 billion for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), though the landmark transaction will likely look past its initial July target as the company awaits a regulatory overhaul from local bourse officials.
Market participants indicate that the tech giant, which is backed by conglomerates Ayala Corporation and Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, will delay its maiden offering until the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) finalizes new rules reducing the minimum public ownership requirement for large-scale listings.
Under current regulations, a traditional 20 percent public float for a mega-listing of Mynt’s scale would heavily dilute existing stakeholders and overwhelm local capital markets. Based on its targeted valuation, a standard listing would require an equity offering ranging from ₱56 billion to ₱90 billion.
Local brokerages have warned that domestic market liquidity cannot easily absorb a transaction of that magnitude without underpricing the assets. To address this, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a tiered public float framework in February, allowing exceptionally large companies to sell as little as 12% of their shares to the public.
Following the SEC’s move, the PSE released its own proposed rules on May 13, setting a May 20 deadline for market feedback. The proposed framework intends to replace the rigid, blanket 20% public float requirement with a dynamic, tiered system:
- Small Cap (₱500 million or less): Must float at least 33% of their shares.
- Mid-Small Cap (₱500 million to ₱1 billion): Faces a 25% requirement, with a minimum offer size of ₱165 million.
- Medium Cap (₱1 billion to ₱50 billion): Maintained at the 20% threshold, subject to a ₱250 million floor.
- Large Cap (Exceeding ₱50 billion): Baseline float requirement drops to 15%, provided the offer size reaches at least ₱10 billion.
- Mega-Listings (Surpassing ₱200 billion): Can request a lower float of 12%, subject to SEC clearance—a category Mynt comfortably falls into.
The proposed guidelines also introduce strict post-listing compliance. Non-compliant firms that breach the required public float will face an immediate trading suspension of up to six months, after which they must either restore public ownership levels or initiate voluntary delisting.
While investment bankers expect the PSE to move swiftly to capture the landmark transaction, market analysts remain split on whether the local exchange can fast-track the changes in time for a mid-year listing. Skeptics point out that the bourse has yet to complete a separate overhaul of its index inclusion parameters that has been pending since last year, casting doubt on the initial July timeline.