GCash Targets IPO in the Middle of 2024
The Philippines’ leading e-wallet, GCash, is preparing for its highly anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the second half of 2024 as the company pushes for aggressive expansion to sustain its leadership in financial technology in the country. Under one of the country’s largest telecom giants, Globe, the company wanted to accomplish its target of going public within the year.
Once GCash can achieve this ambitious plan of going public, it will become the first e-wallet listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. The e-wallet is the leading finance app in the Philippines today, both on the Google App Store and Apple Play Store. It is owned by Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.) and operated by G-Xchange. The e-wallet has a huge portfolio of being a financial services app ranging from cash transfers to instant loans and even crypto exchange through GCrypto powered by PDAX.
According to G-Xchange Inc., President and CEO Oscar Reyes Jr., in an interview with PhilStar, the company is preparing to IPO this year as it deems the market is close to recovering fully after the controversial COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are preparing internally so that we can be ready this year. It is a question of the market, not of GCash, as the market has yet to rebound fully,” Reyes said. “From how it looks, the market doesn’t look hopeful right now. I think we are waiting for that to recover. Hopefully, the market will be ready by the second half.”
The forthcoming IPO of a popular e-wallet is a strategic time to facilitate the company’s expansion in local and international markets. The GCash overseas services empowered OFWs to efficiently remit funds to their homeland, thereby helping the Philippine economy stay afloat amidst the challenges in the financial sectors of society.
GCash to Expand in the Middle East
Aside from the planned IPO, the company will also expand this year, making the Philippine-based e-wallet available in the Middle East, home to millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In Saudi Arabia alone, it boasts around 360,000 documented OFWs working in various sectors.
According to Reyes, GCash will be launched in the Middle East within the first quarter of 2024 as it aims to become an alternative remittance channel for OFWs by offering a free way to send money through the same platform. Sending money to the Philippines is a daunting task for OFWs, especially those who are working in remote deserts of Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
With the expansion in the Middle East, OFWs can quickly start paying their families’ bills by using the app to ensure their hard-earned money is spent wisely in the Philippines. OFWs can also use GCash to save money for the future, as the app hosts safe and secured investment opportunities.
During the past few months, the e-wallet has become a preferred remittance platform in Asia, particularly for OFW users from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. GCash claims that based on initial reports, about half of the cash sent home to the Philippines is now initiated through GCash.
GCash Vision
With GCash’s vision and aspirations of cultivating a customer base in targeted markets, including the United States, Middle East, and Northern Africa, they could add up to their growing community of over 75 million active users. The platform also issued 13.5 million insurance policies, with approximately 9.1 million users registered in GSave.
According to a local brokerage firm, the significance of GCash’s IPO would grant the company access to a broader investor base and unlock substantial value for Globe Telecom, one of the stakeholders of Mynt, with a 36 percent stake. Mynt is GCash’s parent company. Globe’s equalized earnings from Mynt in the nine months ending September 2023 was more than doubled to P1.6 billion.
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