It’s all systems go for the initial public offering (IPO) of Maynilad Water Services Inc., which is tagged to be the biggest stock offering in the last four years.

Amidst the continuing political drama surrounding the floodgate mess, there is no stopping Maynilad’s IPO, especially with institutional investors—like the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank (one of the two Bretton Woods institutions), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)—backing its debut on the bourse.

This corner of the Business Corridor first broke the buzz that institutional investors were attracted by the Maynilad offering. Already, the combined purchase of the IFC and ADB accounts for over 40 percent of the IPO at $100 million and $145 million, which is roughly equivalent to ₱5.87 billion and ₱8.50 billion, respectively, at the current average exchange rate of ₱58.68, for a total of ₱14.37 billion.

By the time you’re reading this, industrialist Manuel V. “MVP” Pangilinan and other Maynilad top honchos are at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) headquarters in BGC for the ringing of the bell that signals its listing.

This reminds me of the lines of “Defying Gravity,” a song from the musical Wicked: “It’s time to try defying gravity; I think I’ll try defying gravity; And, you can’t pull me down.”

Yes Virginia, Maynilad is defying market sentiments with the PSE index slipping below the 6,000 support level—not only because of domestic political uncertainty but compounded by a “global risk-off tone.”

As one of my favorite market trackers, Andro Leo “Andoy” Beltran, Vice President and Head of Business Development & Market Education Departments at First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp., puts it: “Foreign funds have been defensive again, rotating back to the U.S. after strong earnings and resilient economic data. The Fed’s (US Federal Reserve's) ‘higher-for-longer’ stance on rates still weighs on emerging markets like ours.”

Sentiments of local investors, on the other hand, are a mix of frustration, with some quietly accumulating, especially dividend names and blue-chip stocks trading at multi-year lows.

In Maynilad’s case, my long-time friend/broker Joey Roxas, president of Eagle Securities, explained that the offering is one of the best “investment replacements” for bonds and other fixed-income securities.

Under the existing market condition with the low-interest-rate regime, while this is positive for borrowers, individuals with investable funds are veering away from holding bonds and other government securities because of shrinking payouts.

Maynilad IPO buyers, on the other hand, will be assured of higher dividends as approved in May 2025, which sets its annual dividend policy payout ratio “equivalent to whichever is the higher of 50 percent of the prior year’s net income after tax or 40 percent of net income plus depreciation and amortization expenses.”

And from what I heard along the business alleys, moving forward, there is certainty that Maynilad IPO investors will be receiving even higher dividends, anchored on the 35 percent rate of increase that was approved by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System—though on a staggered basis over three years.

Simply put, Maynilad stockholders will be assured of an increasing dividend payout.

Thus, this ardent and forever market student gives unwavering support to Maynilad’s boldness to defy negative market sentiments. And, I believe the IPO will pump-in the much-needed adrenaline to perk up the falling PSEi, despite the lingering corruption issue and prevailing geopolitical uncertainty.

Water is life!