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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider Pangilinan: Maya IPO still an illusion

Pangilinan: Maya IPO still an illusion

Published Jun 12, 2024 06:25 am

PLDT Inc. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan dismissed any hope for an initial public offering in the next two years by digital bank Maya, which it controls through Voyager Innovations Inc., because the firm has yet to have the required three-year profit track record.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us. So to dream of an IPO in the next two years is simply an illusion. Please, don't talk about it. It won't happen,” said Pangilinan at the sidelines of PLDT’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

MVP Manuel V. Pangilinan.png
PLDT Chairman, President and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan

He also noted that, “Plus the fact the market here is not conducive to an IPO. And the kind of valuation that people internally are thinking about for Maya is just out of sight. Is that being honest enough? Very honest. Show me the money. That's what the market will say.”

Pangilinan explained that, Maya is scheduled to break even, for its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), “maybe by the fourth quarter, by the end of the year, maybe on a full year accrual basis… Maybe they'll be a little positive or break even.

“So they're not in a position to be ‘IPO'd’ in the near future, period. I mean, they have to demonstrate that they can be profitable starting 2025 and to be consistently profitable for at least another year.”

He also admitted that Maya is “way behind in the digital wallet (business). What is the vocabulary, the vernacular for digital wallet? It's not Maya, right? It's GCash.”

However, he pointed out that Maya’s strength is that it is a digital bank while its competitor is not.

As of end 2023, Maya was the number one fintech ecosystem in the country, boasting of 3.4 million depositors and one million borrowers.

By of the end of March 2024, Maya has total deposits of P29 billion while P34 billion in loans have been disbursed.

Voyager’s existing investors, aside from PLDT, include PLDT’s top shareholder First Pacific Co. Ltd., lude KKR & Co., Tencent Holdings Ltd., International Finance Corp. (IFC), IFC Emerging Asia Fund, IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, and SIG Venture Capital, EDBI.

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