Ayala bets big on Phl

Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, can look forward to what may be a historic week for the company – the public listing of GCash operator Mynt on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The GCash initial public offering is set to raise up to P60.9 billion, making it the largest IPO in Philippine history.

The offer was multiple times oversubscribed, brokers have said, although not everyone recommended a BUY.

Still, I view the offering as a plus for the Philippines, considering that initially, sources said, some Mynt shareholders wanted to list abroad where valuations would be higher.

But here they are, pushing through with a historic IPO at a time when the stock market is reeling from bloodbaths and has seen better days.

This shows that the conglomerate is betting on the country – warts and all.

“We are doing our part. We are betting big on the Philippines,” Ayala Corp. president and CEO Cezar Consing told The STAR.

This confidence has likewise convinced Ayala’s partners to pour their money into this country of 115 million.

In case you missed it, Ayala has brought nearly P100 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) into the Philippines over the last three years, with the latest infusion coming from its longtime partner Mitsubishi Corp.

How it happened

Mitsubishi, Japan’s largest sogo shosha, made an additional investment of P44.5 billion in Ayala, raising its stake to 15 percent from 4.7 percent and its voting stake to 20 percent.

The move brought Ayala’s FDI haul to P96.5 billion over the last three years, something the country would surely benefit from.

Here’s the breakdown, as reported by our capital markets reporter Richmond Mercurio following our interview with Mr. Consing and Ayala chief social infrastructure officer Paolo Borromeo.

“In 2024, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and MUFG Bank invested P22.4 billion in Mynt, the parent company of e-wallet giant GCash, as part of a strategy to back leading digital financial services platforms across Asia and expand presence in one of the region’s fastest-growing fintech markets.

“Ayala also sold its 50 percent stake in AC Ventures Holding Corp. to Mitsubishi for P19 billion in the same year. ACV held an approximately 13 percent stake in Mynt.

“From 2024 to 2026, the Ayala Group also secured strategic investments and partnerships worth P10.6 billion from leading international companies, including Denmark’s A.P. Moller Capital, Singapore’s ABC Impact, Thailand’s CP AXTRA, the UAE’s Al Seer Group and Wesfarmers’ Kmart Group of Australia.

“These partnerships span logistics, health care, food retail, supermarket operations and consumer retail, supporting Ayala’s efforts to bring global expertise, capital and leading brands to the Philippines while expanding access to essential products and services for Filipino consumers and businesses.”

These are global giants, Mr. Consing said.

Ayala, of course, has to deliver and prove itself a worthy local partner for these big names.

It won’t be easy, considering that the company, despite being the sprawling conglomerate that it is, has not been spared from challenges.

Four years of decline

Ayala’s share price, according to data from tradersunion.com, has seen four consecutive years of decline from 2022 through 2025.

From the end of 2021 to the end of 2025, the share price fell from P831 to P468 – a decline of about 44 percent.

Data also showed that the stock’s 2025 year-end price was about 58 percent below its 2017 peak of P1,116.

The good news is that Ayala’s shares have been recovering, especially after Mitsubishi’s bold move to buy into the company at a premium of P650 per share.

Philippine Stock Exchange data showed Ayala shares at P535 on Oct. 16, 2026, with a 52-week high of P600 and a low of P373.

This means the stock had rebounded from its lows.

With Mitsubishi making a big bet on the company and the country, Consing said Ayala has no choice but to succeed, which for shareholders means unlocking value.

“We better grow value. They are investing at P650 when the share price is hovering around P500. And they’re not doing this to get their money back at P650. They’re doing this because they think the upside is much, much higher than P650. So we better succeed,” Mr. Consing said.

Following the deal with Mitsubishi, Ayala will hire about a dozen Mitsubishi consultants. Some will work in operating companies.

“What we want to do is make sure that we are as closely aligned as possible,” Mr. Consing said.

For the property giant, Ayala Land, the plan is to have a bigger recurring income base.

“I think if the market fully understood what Ayala Land is doing, they’ll realize that in the medium and long term, Ayala Land will be much more valuable because it will have a bigger recurring income base,” Mr. Consing said.

This means growing a real recurring income business through malls, leasing and hospitality, all of which will make the company stronger.

In a sense, Ayala is asking shareholders to be a bit more patient with its plans as it navigates an increasingly complex global economy and our perennially chaotic country.

If there’s any pressure though, Mr. Consing doesn’t seem to show it. His energy is almost tangible and his optimism is infectious.

That, plus he looks not a day older than when he first took the helm of Ayala on Sept. 27, 2022, as its first non-family president and CEO.

The Philippines, he seems to be saying, is still very much worth betting on.

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