The Philippine Stock Exchange said Wednesday mobile wallet G-Cash could list on the local bourse at a lower public float of 15 percent, instead of the 20-percent required under the listing rules.
PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon said the bourse secured the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval to allow companies raising at least P5 billion to list with a 15-percent public float.
Monzon said the PSE was having liquidity problem, and companies were having a hard time approving an IPO because of the 20-percent public float requirement.
GCash and other companies that will avail of the special accommodation, however, will be required to do a follow-on offering or private placement in two to three years to meet the 20-percent float requirement.
SEC commissioner McJill Bryant Fernandez said the regulator remained firm on the 20-percent minimum public ownership.
“We are firm on the 20 percent. The rule is you have to do the 20 percent,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez noted, however, that companies may seek “exemptive relief” from the regulator depending on market conditions.
A veteran stockbroker said the PSE’s move to accommodate G-Cash IPO is a step back from the previous thrust of the SEC which aimed to boost local market liquidity and attract quality investors.
“They [PSE] must review the reasons why the SEC raised the public float requirement to 20 percent. The 20 percent is even low versus other public float requirement in other Asian exchanges,” the broker said.
Instead of lowering the public float requirement for companies planning to list, the PSE should look for other ways to make the IPOs more attractive, the broker said.
“I think if GCash offers 40 percent of the company, people will buy it. It is a very attractive company,” the stockbroker said.
The SEC in 2020 required companies that are going public to sell to the public 20 percent of their outstanding shares. The move was aimed to disperse the shareholder base of listed companies and curb opportunities for collusive market action or price manipulation and encourage good governance.
Meanwhile, GCash announced that it teamed up with Circle, a US-based financial technology firm to offer USDC, a fully reserved digital dollar, to millions of Filipinos.
The partnership allows GCash users to receive, buy, hold or transact with USDC within their GCrypto wallets, providing a secure and accessible digital dollar for financial transactions and savings.
USDC is a fully reserved digital dollar that is 100-percent backed by highly liquid cash and cash-equivalent assets and redeemable 1:1 for US dollars.
The reserves for USDC are held at regulated financial institutions with published third-party monthly attestations, providing a high level of transparency for GCash users.
With USDC, GCash users can access a stable digital dollar that helps provide stability while facilitating seamless and cost-effective transactions in an evolving digital economy.
“The integration of USDC is a significant step in enhancing financial inclusion in the Philippines,” said GCash group head of wealth management Arjun Varma.