Government economic managers Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez emphasized that the record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) of Nissin Monde Corp. during this pandemic is a vote of confidence on the Philippine economy and urged the food giant to further reinvest the IPO funds.

Dominguez, the government’s chief economic manager, expects Monde Nissin to use the proceeds from its IPO to further expand its business activities and open up more job opportunities for Filipinos.

He cited Monde Nissin has not only been a part of the daily lives of Filipino consumers, but more importantly, the company known for its iconic food brands has created thousands of quality jobs for the people.

With its food products becoming staple items in many Filipino households, Monde Nissin has become a corporate giant, and proven that it can compete with the world’s best brands by expanding its business worldwide, the finance chief noted.

“With this initial public offering, we expect Monde Nissin to use the proceeds to further scale up its business and create even more employment opportunities for the Filipino people,” Dominguez said.

“Expanding business activities and introducing new high-value investments into our economy will help us speed up our recovery efforts,” he added.

Monde Nissin’s IPO of more than $1-billion is the largest ever public offering in the PSE history and largest in Southeast Asia in the food and beverage segment so far this year.

“This shows that the Philippines is very capable of winning over world-class equity investors in billion-dollar issue sizes. This offering is also a testament to the high confidence of investors in the post-pandemic recovery of the Philippine economy,” Dominguez said.

“Monde Nissin’s landmark transaction sends a clear message that our economy will soon regain its momentum and will bounce back stronger than ever,” he added.

Dominguez congratulated Monde Nissin for “its success in building a world-class company that other Filipino enterprises may emulate.”

Meanwhile, Dominguez noted that even amid the ongoing pandemic, this period has proven to be “an exciting time for the Philippine stock market” which has witnessed several other landmark offerings from the retail and telecommunications sector.

“I am sure that the Philippine stock market is poised to see more blockbuster offerings as interest in our economy continues to grow,” he said.

These “promising developments” underscore the importance of rapidly developing the Philippines’ capital markets through reforms that would encourage financial deepening and a broad-based and inclusive financial system fit for the 21st century, Dominguez said.

For his part, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez thanked Monde Nissin for their confidence with their IPO listing during this pandemic.

“You are now truly a global public company, raising more than $1 billion from this IPO—the biggest public offering so far in the country,” said Lopez.

He cited Monde Nissin for having always produced brands loved by Filipinos over the past forty-two years of its operation. “With your strong brand equity, growth track record, and a wide set of portfolios of iconic brands across fast-growing categories, it’s not surprising that you pose as a good investment opportunity globally,” he said.

According to Lopez, Monde Nissin’s amazing growth story presently serves as an inspiration for our country’s business sector.

Founded in 1979, the company started with first-year revenues of less than $100,000, and now you’ve managed to grow the business to a $5 billion company. “That is amazing,” said Lopez.

Many of Monde Nissin’s brands are household names in the Philippines—like Lucky Me! Noodles, Sky Flakes Crackers, and Fita Crackers—and some more are growing to become one, like the Monde baked goods, and the Quorn meat alternative products.

“Lucky Me!”, its anchor product started in 1989 as a distant third behind global instant noodle brands in the local market before achieving the No. 1 market position in a P38 billion noodle industry.

Based on Kantar’s global brand footprint research, this brand is present in 95 percent of Filipino households and is the most chosen brand by Filipinos!

“Wow, 95 percent! I am sure, the envy of many brands,” said Lopez.

Last year, “Lucky Me!” had also cornered 68 percent of the local market. “This shows that the “Lucky Me!” brand has become a well-loved staple in every Filipino home for the past 32 years,” he said.