Globe Telecom [GLO 1720.00; 116% avgVol] [link] said that it expects its e-wallet unit, GCash, to be “push-button ready” for an IPO “by the end of the year.” GLO President Ernest Cu said, of plans to IPO GCash: “The growth is there, the profitability has been there for almost two years now.”
Mr. Cu added, “We’re pretty much ripe for it.”
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There’s not much left to say about GCash that hasn’t already been said. It was born in the right place, at the right time, and will mature in a regulatory environment that is cheering for it to grow and succeed.
I’ve personally advocated for GLO to spin-off GCash for years now, but that’s not some kind of original hot take.
It’s been clear for a long time that the needs of GCash are different from those of its parent, but it wasn’t always clear that GLO felt the same way.
For the past few quarters, GLO has been trying to do this on-the-fly rebrand from a “telco” to a “techco”, which came off to me as a clumsy attempt to pretend like GLO is still the center of relevance to investors.
To be clear, GLO didn’t say that the IPO would happen by year-end, only that it would be “push-button ready” by that time, and even if it were ready by Christmas, there’s no telling what market factors might be in play that could result in GLO delaying even further.
I’m curious to hear more as the plan takes shape.
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