MANILA, (Oct 10 (Bloomberg): Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc and its shareholders has raised 25.3 billion pesos (US$523 million) after pricing its Philippines initial public offering near the low end of its marketed range.
The Warburg Pincus-backed Philippine broadband operator priced 1.51 billion shares at 16.8 pesos each, according to an exchange filing on Friday (Oct 9).
The shares were offered at a range of 16.5 pesos to 19 pesos. About 68% of the offering consists of existing shares, which came from Converge ICT founders and Warburg Pincus.
At US$523 million, Converge’s IPO is the biggest in the Philippines since CEMEX Holdings Philippines Inc.’s US$539 million share sale in 2016.
Converge, the largest and fastest growing high-speed fixed broadband operator in the Philippines, has benefited from increasing use during the Covid-19 pandemic, as most of the country worked or were educated from home.
The offering attracted eight cornerstone investors including Genesis Investment and Ghisallo Master Fund. The company is slated to start trading on Oct. 26 in Manila.
Meanwhile, the Philippine central bank may set a limit on the number of digital lenders in the nation, as it seeks to release regulations on the emerging industry before the year ends.
Under a planned policy that’s under review, online banks must adhere to the same corporate and risk management standards as traditional lenders, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a virtual briefing recently.
The monetary authority has had talks with domestic and foreign companies seeking to establish a fully virtual bank in the country, Diokno said.
"It will formally accept applications once rules are out and "reserves the right to set a limit on the number of digital bank entrants,” he said.
Central banks across South-East Asia are establishing rules on virtual lenders as companies from Grab Holdings Inc. to AMTD Group Co. see the region’s potential in the financial technology space.
Singapore is planning to award as many as five digital licenses to non-banks later this year. - Bloomberg
The Warburg Pincus-backed Philippine broadband operator priced 1.51 billion shares at 16.8 pesos each, according to an exchange filing on Friday (Oct 9).
The shares were offered at a range of 16.5 pesos to 19 pesos. About 68% of the offering consists of existing shares, which came from Converge ICT founders and Warburg Pincus.
At US$523 million, Converge’s IPO is the biggest in the Philippines since CEMEX Holdings Philippines Inc.’s US$539 million share sale in 2016.
Converge, the largest and fastest growing high-speed fixed broadband operator in the Philippines, has benefited from increasing use during the Covid-19 pandemic, as most of the country worked or were educated from home.
The offering attracted eight cornerstone investors including Genesis Investment and Ghisallo Master Fund. The company is slated to start trading on Oct. 26 in Manila.
Meanwhile, the Philippine central bank may set a limit on the number of digital lenders in the nation, as it seeks to release regulations on the emerging industry before the year ends.
Under a planned policy that’s under review, online banks must adhere to the same corporate and risk management standards as traditional lenders, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a virtual briefing recently.
The monetary authority has had talks with domestic and foreign companies seeking to establish a fully virtual bank in the country, Diokno said.
"It will formally accept applications once rules are out and "reserves the right to set a limit on the number of digital bank entrants,” he said.
Central banks across South-East Asia are establishing rules on virtual lenders as companies from Grab Holdings Inc. to AMTD Group Co. see the region’s potential in the financial technology space.
Singapore is planning to award as many as five digital licenses to non-banks later this year. - Bloomberg
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