Market & Mainstreet
GCash Opens Flat, BSP Up Next
The Daily Scan – October 21, 2026 (Wed)
GCash’s parent closed its first trading day flat at the P6.60 offer price, a quiet start for the country’s biggest IPO. The BSP decides on rates tomorrow, and Nomura now counts it among the most hawkish central banks in the region. Tanker attacks around the Strait of Hormuz keep oil near $110, while electrified vehicles keep gaining share even as total car sales fall. NCR’s P85 wage hike is still stuck in court, and a French bond selloff is spreading across Europe. The pattern for business owners: money is getting more careful, and customers are moving to whatever cuts their fuel bill.
| Peso close | BSP rate | GCash close | Brent |
| ₱63.09/$ | 5.0% |
₱6.60 |
$108.79 |
SECTION 1 · Philippines
● GCash parent Mynt ends its debut flat at the offer price
WHAT HAPPENED
Mynt opened Tuesday at its P6.60 offer price, rose as high as P6.76 during the session, and closed back at P6.60, Reuters reported. At that price the company is worth about P442 billion ($7 billion). The IPO raised about P60.9 billion including the overallotment option, the largest in Philippine history, with buyers that included BlackRock, Citadel and Fidelity International.
UNCERTAIN
Whether the price holds. UBS, the stabilizing agent, said it may buy up to 1.204 billion shares in the open market during a period of up to 30 days after listing, which can support the price for now. Shenton Research’s Ke Yan said a flat debut is a plausible result given recent listings in the region, several of which closed below their offer prices.
WHY IT MATTERS
A flat opening tells you investors are paying for GCash’s size, not betting on a quick jump. That keeps pressure on the company to earn more from each user, which usually means more loans, insurance and merchant services pushed through the app.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Opportunity: merchants may be offered more financing and business tools. Risk: deeper reliance on one platform’s fees and terms.
NEXT MOVE
If GCash is a main payment channel for you, review your current merchant fees now so you can spot any changes in the coming months.
● BSP decides tomorrow; Nomura calls it one of the region’s most hawkish
WHAT HAPPENED
Nomura expects the BSP to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, from 5 percent to 5.25 percent, The Philippine Star reported. That would be the fourth straight hike, bringing the total to 100 basis points since April. September inflation was 7.2 percent and core inflation 4.7 percent, both well above the 2 to 4 percent target. After talks with officials across the region, Nomura grouped the BSP with Malaysia’s central bank as Southeast Asia’s most hawkish.
UNCERTAIN
What happens after Thursday. Nomura flagged possible further hikes if El Niño pushes food prices up or government spending picks up again. It also said weak domestic demand limits how hard the BSP can tighten, with the economy running below potential after the sharp cut in government spending that followed the flood control scandal.
WHY IT MATTERS
A central bank that plans to stay tough means borrowing costs are unlikely to fall soon. Plan your 2027 financing as if rates stay at this level or higher.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Risk: higher costs on credit lines and variable-rate loans through next year.
NEXT MOVE
If you are about to borrow, ask your bank for its rate before and after Thursday’s decision, so you know what the hike costs you.
● Government open to selling the Bataan nuclear plant
WHAT HAPPENED
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the government could sell the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant or put it into a joint project as its share, the Inquirer reported. A feasibility study by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, paid for by South Korea, came back positive, she said, without giving figures. The 620-megawatt plant was finished decades ago but never ran commercially. The government’s target is first nuclear power by 2032.
UNCERTAIN
Almost everything about cost and timing. Garin said technical viability and safety are still being assessed, and the country has not committed to the study’s recommendations. The host town of Morong passed an ordinance in June banning nuclear facilities, and the DOE is also looking at sites in Pangasinan and Palawan.
WHY IT MATTERS
Electricity is one of the biggest costs for many businesses. Nuclear could add steady supply in the next decade, but it does nothing for this year’s El Niño-driven power demand.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Opportunity: long-term work for engineering, construction and service firms if a deal moves ahead. Risk: years of delays, given the plant’s history.
NEXT MOVE
Don’t plan around cheaper nuclear power. If electricity is a big cost for you, look at what you can do now: an energy audit, solar, or shifting heavy use to off-peak hours.
● NCR’s P85 wage hike stays stuck in court
WHAT HAPPENED
On Oct. 20, Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 152 denied the government’s motion to lift its Aug. 12 injunction against the P85 daily wage increase under Wage Order NCR-27, the Daily Tribune reported. The injunction was sought by Readycon Construction Corp. and R-II Builders. The same order let labor groups join the case, and according to the NAGKAISA labor coalition it cut the bond the petitioners must post from P10 billion to P5 billion. The petitioners had not yet paid the bond.
UNCERTAIN
Whether the injunction is even in force, since it takes effect only once the bond is posted. NAGKAISA chair Jose Sonny Matula argues the trial court has no jurisdiction, because the Wage Rationalization Act sends challenges to wage orders to the National Wages and Productivity Commission. Labor groups have a petition pending before the Supreme Court and asked for oral arguments.
WHY IT MATTERS
Employers in Metro Manila still don’t know for sure whether they owe the increase, and a final answer could come late. Labor is the biggest cost for many small businesses, so this uncertainty affects pricing and hiring plans.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Risk: a sudden jump in payroll and possible claims from workers if higher courts uphold the wage order.
NEXT MOVE
Budget for the P85 a day per minimum-wage worker anyway. Ask your accountant or a labor lawyer whether to pay it now or set the money aside.
SECTION 2 · Worth Knowing
● AI stocks swing as high interest rates squeeze borrowers
WHAT HAPPENED
On Tuesday in New York, the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent and the Dow gained about 1 percent, while the Nasdaq slipped slightly, AP reported. Last week was the market’s worst since June, led by AI-related stocks, on worry that high bond rates will slow the borrowing that pays for AI chips. In Seoul, AI company Elice fell 32 percent on its first trading day. Brent crude eased 0.7 percent to $108.79 after nearing $112.
UNCERTAIN
Whether the AI selloff is over. Cloud provider CoreWeave, which borrows to buy chips and rents them out, swung from a loss of more than 6 percent to a gain of 1.7 percent in a single day.
WHY IT MATTERS
When rates are high, investors punish businesses that grow on borrowed money. The same is true locally, with the BSP still hiking, and it helps explain why GCash’s debut was flat.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Risk: tighter investor money for growth plans funded by debt.
NEXT MOVE
If you plan to raise money in the next year, show how you will grow from your own cash flow, not only from new loans.
● More tankers hit by mines near Hormuz
WHAT HAPPENED
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two tankers that broke its navigation rules hit mines in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, caught fire and stopped their voyages, the Seoul Economic Daily reported. Ship-tracking firm Kpler counted at least 18 vessels attacked in two weeks. Brent rose to $111.67 early Tuesday Asian time, its highest since May.
UNCERTAIN
How long the attacks continue. Prices swung widely during the day and closed lower in New York, so watch the trend, not one day’s high. The report was machine-translated from Korean, so quoted wording may differ from the original.
WHY IT MATTERS
The Philippines imports almost all of its oil, much of it from the Middle East. Each new attack keeps diesel and freight costs high, and those costs end up in what you pay suppliers and what you charge customers.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Risk: higher delivery, freight and power costs for the rest of the year.
NEXT MOVE
If you sign delivery or supply contracts, add a fuel adjustment clause so a price spike doesn’t come out of your margin.
● France’s bond selloff spreads across Europe
WHAT HAPPENED
France’s 10-year government bond yield jumped from 4.80 percent to 4.93 percent on Monday, the sharpest rise in the G7, The Telegraph reported. Yields also rose in Italy, Spain and Britain, and European stock markets fell. More than 2,000 people were arrested over the weekend in violent protests over the cost of living and school conditions. France’s deficit is on track for 5.4 percent of GDP this year.
UNCERTAIN
Whether this becomes a full debt crisis. Capital Economics’ Andrew Kenningham said France is heading toward a fiscal crisis that could push the eurozone into recession, and Goldman Sachs economists warned of a possible repeat of the 2010 debt crisis. The 2027 budget, which aims to cut spending, goes to a vote in parliament next month, and public acceptance of the cuts is in doubt.
WHY IT MATTERS
Rising borrowing costs in one big market tend to push up rates elsewhere, which keeps pressure on the peso and on the BSP. A weaker Europe also means softer demand for Philippine exports and outsourcing services sold there.
RISK / OPPORTUNITY
Risk: slower orders and payment delays from European clients.
NEXT MOVE
If European clients make up a big share of your revenue, check their payment terms now and look for customers in other markets to spread the risk.
The Telegraph via Yahoo Finance →
SECTION 3 · THE OPPORTUNITY BEHIND THE NEWS
Hog raisers are selling cheap, and a pause on pork imports may be coming
Rising pork imports have pushed farmgate prices for live hogs as low as P120 to P160 a kilo in some areas, Context.ph reports, citing Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. Meanwhile, Metro Manila markets were selling pork belly at P370 a kilo and frozen liempo at P300. The DA is studying a pause of 30 to 60 days on import clearances for kasim, liempo, pigue, jowls and whole pigs, possibly starting in November, though it is still waiting for legal advice. This gap is the opening. Carinderias, restaurants, and makers of longganisa and tocino can buy directly from local hog raisers now, while prices are low. A supply deal at a fixed price protects you if an import pause tightens frozen supply before the holidays, and gives the farmer a steady buyer. Our view: it is cheaper to agree on terms before the rush than during it.
SECTION 4 · FOUNDER’S LESSON
Price for the deal you need, not the number you hoped for
When Mynt first filed to list, the paperwork showed an offer price of up to P10 a share. CFO Evelyn Ng later explained to GMA News that the P10 was an administrative ceiling required for the application, never the planned price. After several rounds of talks with investors, Mynt settled at P6.60. Analyst Eric Jurado said the lower price gave investors a more attractive entry point, and BDO Capital’s Ed Francisco said demand beat past local IPOs. The deal closed and the shares debuted flat, not falling. The lesson works for any owner setting a price on a new product, a stake for an investor, or a business for sale: the highest number you can justify is not always the one that gets the deal done. Leave the buyer some room, and you keep the relationship and your reputation for the next round.
SECTION 5 · ONE REAL SIGNAL
More than 1 in 6 new vehicles sold this year has an electric motor
Electrified vehicle sales reached 8,959 units in September, about four times the 2,237 sold a year earlier, Gulf News reports, citing CAMPI and TMA data. Battery electric sales rose to 3,075 units and plug-in hybrids to 1,951, while regular hybrids rose to 3,933. From January to September, electrified vehicles made up 17.71 percent of all vehicle sales, up from 6.05 percent a year earlier. This is happening while the overall market shrank 6 percent in September. Fuel prices are changing what people buy faster than the market itself is growing. For businesses that run vehicles, this is the time to compare total running costs, not just purchase prices. For auto service shops, parts sellers and parking operators, demand for EV repair, batteries and charging is starting to grow.
Summarized in our own words with links to every source. We don’t reproduce full articles or bypass paywalls. Interpretation is labeled as such and kept separate from reported fact.
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