- Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, and the Zobel family, one of the wealthiest families in the Philippines, celebrate a significant milestone as their joint venture, Mynt, operator of GCash, secures a $5 billion valuation.
- GCash, the most popular e-wallet service in the Philippines, has over 90 million users, representing about 75% of the nation’s population.
- Mynt, founded in 2015, boasts investments from Jack Ma’s Ant Group and the Zobel family’s conglomerates, Ayala Corp. and Globe Telecom, strengthening its position as a fintech giant in the region.
- With Mynt’s rapid growth, the company is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) and considering a dual listing in both the Philippines and the USA next year.
Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire behind Alibaba, and the Zobel family, one of the most influential business dynasties in the Philippines, are marking a significant achievement in their joint venture, Mynt. Mynt, the parent company of GCash, the most widely used e-wallet service in the Philippines, recently secured fresh capital, catapulting its valuation to a staggering $5 billion.
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GCash, which boasts over 90 million users—about three-quarters of the Philippine population—has become an indispensable part of the country’s digital financial ecosystem. The fintech company, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Manila, was established through a partnership involving the Ant Group, backed by Ma, and two prominent Philippine companies connected to the Zobel de Ayala family.
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For Jack Ma, this comes at a pivotal time, following a period in which Alibaba’s growth was curtailed by regulatory pressure from Beijing and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Ant Group, Ma now holds at least a quarter of Mynt’s shares, which are worth a minimum of $1.2 billion. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ma himself holds a 10% stake in Ant Group and has an estimated fortune of $32.8 billion.
The Zobel family’s involvement in Mynt is primarily through their conglomerate Ayala Corp. and telecommunications giant Globe Telecom. In the latest round of financing, Ayala expanded its stake in the company, now holding 13% of Mynt’s shares. The Zobel family is currently estimated to have a fortune of $4.1 billion.
Though Mynt has not provided specific details on the current shareholder breakdown following this recent investment, Ant Group did not immediately respond to inquiries about the size of their stake in the fintech company.
The Zobel family’s roots in Philippine business date back to the 19th century. Their forebears, of European descent, established a distillery in 1834, which eventually grew into Ayala Corp. Today, the Ayala Group is a powerful conglomerate with investments spanning real estate, banking, energy, telecommunications, healthcare, and logistics.
In addition to local investors, the Japanese Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group also took part in Mynt’s recent funding round, contributing approximately $400 million for an 8% stake in the company.
Looking ahead, Mynt is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to take place next year. The company is exploring a dual listing, with plans to go public both in the Philippines and the United States, positioning itself for continued growth in the competitive global fintech landscape.