Market & Mainstreet
Prices are Rising Faster While Mynt Opens its P53B IPO
The Daily Scan – October 07, 2026 (Wed)
Prices rose faster in September. Inflation hit 7.2%, the highest in over three years, and some economists now expect the BSP to hike again on Oct 22.
Money has not disappeared, but it is getting pickier. Mynt, the parent of GCash, opened a P53B IPO. PLDT put its P24.2B data center REIT on hold until 2027. PEZA says approved investment pledges are close to its P300B goal.
Abroad, Gulf oil exports are recovering, the World Bank lifted its East Asia forecast on AI exports, and AI labs are lining up big raises. For owners, the work today is simple: watch your costs, check your loans, and expect investors to be selective.
| Mynt offer price | BSP policy rate | PSEi |
| P6.60, P660 minimum order | 5.0%, after three 25 bp hikes | 5,677.12, down 1.15% |
SECTION 1 · Philippines
● Inflation jumps to 7.2%, a three-year high
WHAT HAPPENED
The PSA says September inflation was 7.2%, up from 6.1% in August. It ended four months of easing and matches April’s reading. It is the highest since 7.6% in March 2023. Food inflation rose to 6.7% from 4.6%, and rice inflation reached 20.3%. Transport inflation was 14.6% and housing and utilities 8.4%. Core inflation, which strips out food and fuel, rose to 4.7%.
UNCERTAIN
Economists disagree on the BSP’s next move. Some expect another 25 basis point hike, while one adviser says 50 is possible. National Statistician Dennis Mapa said, as reported by The Philippine Star, that recent fare hikes are not in this number yet and should show up in the October result.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: food, transport and power are core costs for most SMEs. A rate hike would also lift loan costs. Both land on margins.
RISK
Your costs rise faster than you can reprice.
OPPORTUNITY
Owners who track input costs every week can adjust early. This is our interpretation, not a forecast from the source.
NEXT MOVE
Check supplier price lists and any floating-rate loans before Oct 22.
● Mynt opens its P53B IPO with a P660 minimum
WHAT HAPPENED
Mynt, the parent of GCash, opened its roughly P53B IPO. The offer price is P6.60 a share and the offer runs to Oct 12. Retail investors can order from 100 shares, or P660, in the GCash app through GStocks PH. Real-time allocation of the first 100 shares applies to orders placed up to today, Oct 7, while shares last. Order fulfilment starts Oct 8, and Mynt plans to list on Oct 20 under the ticker GCASH. If the extra shares are fully taken up, the deal reaches about P60.9B, which Mynt says would make it the country’s largest IPO.
UNCERTAIN
Beyond the first 100 shares, orders are first come, first served and not guaranteed. Unused funds are refunded. Philstocks puts a target price of P9.10, about 37.9% above the offer price, and COL Financial sees the offer as a discount to regional peers. Those are broker opinions, and no one knows where the stock will trade on day one.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: a retail offer starting at P660 puts a very large listing inside a phone app. It is also a test of appetite for new issues when the market is weak. The Philippine Star reported that the PSEi fell 1.15% to 5,677.12 on the inflation news, with some investors staying on the sidelines while the retail offer ran.
RISK
A new listing in a weak market can trade below its offer price.
OPPORTUNITY
A smooth deal could encourage other fintech and digital firms to list. Both are our interpretation.
NEXT MOVE
If you plan to subscribe, read the prospectus risk section first and set your amount before you open the app.
● PLDT puts its VITRO data center REIT on hold until 2027
WHAT HAPPENED
PLDT told the PSE it has suspended the plan to list VITRO Inc. as a real estate investment trust this year. The offer could have raised up to P24.2B and would have been the country’s first listing of a data center operator. PLDT blamed rising interest rates and weaker economic conditions. It said it remains committed to the REIT and wants to see how economic factors develop.
UNCERTAIN
Whether conditions improve enough in 2027 is an open question. The REIT was part of PLDT’s plan to monetize assets and reduce debt, and that plan now waits.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: large issuers are choosing when to raise money, not only whether to. VITRO planned to use proceeds to build more data centers and settle debts, so the delay touches both growth and the balance sheet.
RISK
Other planned listings and fundraising could face the same pushback if rates keep rising.
OPPORTUNITY
Companies with strong cash flow may stand out while others wait. Both are our reading.
NEXT MOVE
If you plan to raise money in the next 12 months, build a timeline that can move.
● PEZA approvals reach P297B, close to its P300B goal
WHAT HAPPENED
PEZA has approved P297.14B in investment pledges as of September, nearly double the same period last year. The total covers 222 new and expansion projects, which are expected to generate $8.95B in exports and 33,331 jobs if they are completed. Thirty-nine large projects worth P271.33B make up most of the value. September alone brought P80.68B, up 65.08%. Of the 222 projects, 185 are in Luzon, 25 in the Visayas and 12 in Mindanao. The top foreign sources are Taiwan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia.
UNCERTAIN
These are approved pledges, not finished plants. The export and job figures apply only if the projects get built. Most of the value sits in a few big projects.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: new plants and ecozone projects need suppliers, logistics, facilities and services. September approvals included sites in Western Visayas and Central Visayas.
RISK
Pledges can slip, and a handful of large projects drive the total.
OPPORTUNITY
Local suppliers and service providers near approved sites. Both are our interpretation.
NEXT MOVE
Find which approved projects are near you and what they will need to buy locally.
SECTION 2 · Worth Knowing
● Gulf oil exports recover to 81% of pre-war levels
WHAT HAPPENED
Gulf exports of crude, condensates and LPG, excluding Iran, averaged 19.2 million barrels a day in September, about 81% of the pre-war level, according to Vortexa data cited by Reuters. Kpler put crude exports at 18.6 million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia led the recovery, from about 4.2 million barrels a day in August to about 6.6 million. Vortexa says crude alone is back to 91% of pre-war levels, while fuel exports are only at 60%.
UNCERTAIN
Whether the pace holds. A Vortexa analyst said daily flows are far more volatile than before the war.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: the Philippines imports its fuel, and the September inflation report blamed higher oil prices for faster transport and utility costs. Fuel products are recovering more slowly than crude, so pump prices could ease later than crude prices.
RISK
Another supply shock would push pump prices up again.
OPPORTUNITY
If flows hold, fuel cost pressure on SMEs could ease in the coming months. This is our reading, not a forecast from the source.
NEXT MOVE
Track fuel and delivery as a separate line in your monthly numbers so you can see when relief arrives.
● World Bank lifts East Asia growth to 4.5% on AI exports
WHAT HAPPENED
The World Bank raised its 2026 growth forecast for East Asia and the Pacific to 4.5%, up 0.3 percentage point from its April estimate. AI-related goods drove more than half of export growth in most of the region’s economies, and trade growth excluding AI goods was weak or negative. The bank warned that a reversal in AI spending, expected to be partly financed by $800B of private credit, would remove a key pillar of growth.
UNCERTAIN
Local reports differ on the Philippine numbers. The Philippine Star says the Bank kept its forecasts unchanged through 2028, while the Inquirer reports a cut to the 2027 forecast. Check the report’s country table before you quote a figure.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: The Philippine Star reports the Bank called the Philippines an outlier in East Asia on exposure to fuel prices. A region that leans this hard on AI exports has less room for error.
RISK
A pullback in AI spending would hit regional exporters.
OPPORTUNITY
Firms that supply or service AI-linked factories and data centers may see steadier demand. Both are our interpretation.
NEXT MOVE
Read the Bank’s Philippine notes before you build a forecast around them.
● DeepSeek, Moonshot and OpenAI line up multibillion raises
WHAT HAPPENED
Bloomberg reported that China’s DeepSeek is nearing a funding round of at least $12B, backed by Tencent and CATL, ahead of a planned IPO in early 2027. Moonshot AI, maker of the Kimi chatbot, completed a final private round at a $50B valuation and is eyeing a Hong Kong IPO in the first quarter of 2027. OpenAI is seeking at least $30B at a $1.4T valuation, with BlackRock and UAE funds among possible investors.
UNCERTAIN
These are reported talks and plans, not closed deals. The figures come from Bloomberg’s reporting as summarized by CoinDesk.
WHY IT MATTERS
Our read: strong competition between US and Chinese labs can change the price and quality of AI tools that SMEs use for accounting, customer service and marketing. CoinDesk says DeepSeek’s latest model strengthened its position against US rivals on cost and performance.
RISK
The World Bank warns the region leans hard on AI spending, and these valuations assume it continues.
OPPORTUNITY
More competition may bring cheaper tools. Both are our reading.
NEXT MOVE
Before you sign a long AI contract, compare at least two providers on price per task.
SECTION 3 · THE OPPORTUNITY BEHIND THE NEWS
Costs rise at home while new plants line up
Two stories pull in opposite directions. Inflation at 7.2% means food, transport and power cost more for almost every business. At the same time, PEZA has approved P297.14B in pledges, nearly double last year’s pace, for 222 projects that expect to ship $8.95B in exports and hire 33,331 people if they get built.
For a small supplier, that is where an opportunity may sit. Plants and ecozones need things like packaging, maintenance, food service, logistics and local services. You can see the same pattern in the project mix: facilities, logistics and manufacturing all appear in the approvals.
The caution is that approvals are not buildings. Treat the pledges as a pipeline to watch, not an order book. Ask which projects are near you, who is buying locally, and whether your costs let you bid at today’s prices. This section is our interpretation of two news items, not a forecast.
SECTION 4 · FOUNDER’S LESSON
PLDT waited. You can too.
Picture this. You planned to raise money this quarter. Your deck is ready and your numbers are clean. Then rates rise and the mood changes.
PLDT met a version of that. It had a P24.2B listing planned for VITRO, its data center arm. It pointed to rising interest rates and weaker conditions, moved the deal to 2027 and said it stays committed. That is our reading of the decision, based on the company’s own statement.
Notice what it did not say. It did not say the plan was wrong. A delay can be a decision, not a failure. Keep your numbers clean, keep your story ready, and keep enough cash to wait if you have to. You will bargain better when you are not rushing.
SECTION 5 · ONE REAL SIGNAL
Inflation is no longer only about food
The headline number is 7.2%. The number under it matters more. Core inflation, which removes food and fuel, rose to 4.7%, near a three-year high. UnionBank’s chief economist Carlo Asuncion said the surge looks broader than seasonal, as reported by the Inquirer.
More is likely to come into the data. The PSA’s chief said recent fare hikes will show up in the October result, per The Philippine Star. Chinabank economists pointed to a peak in November. The Manila Times reports that PAGASA projects a super El Niño, with the worst dry-spell effects on agriculture, fisheries and livestock expected from November to April.
The BSP has raised its policy rate three times since April, to 5.0%. Views on what comes next differ. BPI’s Emilio Neri Jr. sees 25 basis points in October and again in December. Reyes Tacandong’s Jonathan Ravelas says 50 is possible. Pantheon’s Miguel Chanco says the latest print could push the BSP to hike on Oct 22, but he still sees the rate ending 2027 at 4.25%.
How to read this: the facts above are reported. The forecasts are opinions, and they disagree. Use them to decide what to watch, not what to assume.
Oct 22 BSP decision. Whether the move is 25 or 50 basis points, and what the BSP says about the path after that.
The October inflation print. Whether fare hikes push transport inflation higher, and whether core inflation keeps climbing.
Your own input costs. Food, fuel and power lines in your monthly numbers, so you see the squeeze before it reaches your margin.
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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