THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is setting a modest target of about four initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, underscoring the cautious pipeline for equity fundraising after listings fell short of expectations last year.
“We only targeted four (IPOs) for this year,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon told reporters on Friday.
Mr. Monzon said the local bourse is targeting to raise around P170 billion to P175 billion in capital this year. This would be higher than the P144.14 billion in total capital raised in 2025.
The goal follows a weak IPO turnout in 2025, when only two companies listed despite a target of six.
Cebu-based fuel distributor and retailer Top Line Business Development Corp. debuted in April, while West Zone water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. completed its offering in November.
Mr. Monzon said that among the IPOs they are anticipating this year are electronic wallet platform GCash and PNB Holdings Corp.’s (PHC) listing by way of introduction.
“I don’t know if the PNB will go first, (or) maybe Globe will go first,” he said. “I think GCash will file soon. Maybe not in the first quarter, [maybe] when the revised float is passed,” Mr. Monzon added.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to ease the minimum public ownership requirement for IPOs, which will pave the way for the long-awaited debut of GCash. Under the proposed rules, companies with a market value of over P150 billion like Mynt would need a public float of at least 12%.
Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, has been pushing the SEC to lower the minimum public ownership requirement as the current 20% public float may be too large for the stock market to absorb.
There were plans for a GCash IPO last year, but a stock market slump forced the company to push back its planned IPO to this year.
Bloomberg News previously reported that the company is looking to raise $1 billion (P59.3 billion) to $1.5 billion (P89 billion) from the IPO.
On the other hand, PHC, a subsidiary of the LT Group, Inc., filed an application for the registration of its shares with the SEC, in preparation for the planned listing by introduction.
Listing by introduction lets a company list its shares on the stock exchange without immediate capital raising. This method suits cases where a listed issuer distributes an unlisted issuer’s securities as a property dividend to its shareholders.
Last year, several companies shelved their IPO plans including Hann Holdings, Inc., SM Prime Holdings’ real estate investment trust and Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc.
CONFIDENCE ISSUEMeanwhile, Mr. Monzon said the stock market’s slump in 2025 can be attributed to “confidence issues,” as a corruption scandal involving flood control projects has shaken public and investor confidence.
“The corruption issue has to be resolved,” the PSE chief said.
The PSE index (PSEi) closed 2025 at 6,052.92, down 7.29% from end-2024. On Nov. 14, the PSEi plunged to 5,584.35, its weakest close in nearly five and a half years or since the 5,570.22 close on May 28, 2020.
Mr. Monzon said there should be high-profile arrests related to the flood control scandal.
“They just have to… jail some people as they indicated to really deliver a strong message about improved governance, improved transparency,” he said.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure is investigating claims that government officials, lawmakers, and contractors pocketed billions in kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects. — A.G.C.Magno
