The planned $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) by GCash parent Mynt Inc. is poised to inject much-needed liquidity into the Philippine stock market by drawing back international fund managers.

“Over the long term, if Mynt performs well in the stock market and becomes part of the index (PSEi), then we could see the whole Philippine market actually performing better as it would help the country attract more passive investors—institutional investors who would buy index funds that would replicate the performance of the PSEi,” said COL Financial Chief Equity Strategist April Tan in a video posted online.

She explained that, “For the longest time, one of the issues that investors have in the Philippines is that we are all traditional companies. You know, we're not part of the other markets that have tech stocks, but with the listing of GCash, it changes that.”

The success of a Mynt listing will also boost the share prices of index stocks Ayala Corp. and Globe Telecom, which own 6.5 percent and 34 percent of Mynt, respectively.

Noting that Mynt is estimated to be worth around $8 billion, Tan said the shares owned by Globe and Ayala are worth a lot of money. However, she pointed out that, “It seems that, if you look at the valuation of Globe and Ayala Corp. right now, the large value of these investments [is] not yet reflected in their share price.”

Tan said the PSE itself would want Mynt to be part of its basket of 30 stocks that make up the benchmark index, even though it is aiming for a public float of only 12 percent.

“For Mynt to become part of the PSEi, they would have to allow companies with a free float of less than 20 percent to be part of the index,” she said.

Such a regulatory move would create a ripple effect across the stock market, potentially paving the way for other heavily capitalized companies with public floats of less than 20 percent, like Aboitiz Power Corporation, to rejoin the PSEi.

Mynt’s board of directors recently approved the filing of its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and its listing application with the PSE to pave the way for its much-awaited IPO.

While no specific terms have been disclosed yet, Mynt said the offer will be equivalent to 12.0 percent of its total outstanding capital stock post-IPO, with each common share having a par value of ₱0.03. Firm Shares will consist of both primary and secondary offers.

“Over the past decade, Mynt has evolved from an e-wallet operator into the Philippines’ number one finance superapp and largest cashless ecosystem,” said Mynt President and CEO Martha Sazon.

She noted that, “The authorization of our Board and shareholders allows us to work toward a potential public listing as the next step in Mynt’s growth journey, while continuing to focus on the priorities that have brought us to this point: serving customers, supporting merchants, strengthening our platform offering, and building the business for the long term.”