BENGALURU Mynt, which operates the Philippine e-wallet brand and IPO-hopeful GCash, has more than doubled its valuation to US$5 billion, following investments from Ayala Corp and Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, the companies said in separate statements on Friday.

Ayala Corp, one of the Philippines' oldest conglomerate, said it has acquired an additional 8% stake in mobile financial services firm Mynt, also known as Globe Fintech Innovations, for 22.9 billion pesos (US$393.07 million). This increases Ayala's ownership in Mynt to 13%.

The Philippines is among the fastest-growing fintech markets in Southeast Asia, with a surge in adoption of digital services during the pandemic.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG), Japan's largest banking group, plans to invest US$393 million in Mynt for an 8% stake.

MUFG has previously backed other Asia-Pacific startups and technology companies, such as Grab and Akulaku.

"The Philippines has a high mobile phone and internet penetration, creating a solid foundation for the development of digital financial services," MUFG said in a statement.

Mynt is a joint venture between Alibaba's Ant Group, Ayala and communications firm Globe Telecom.

Globe Telecom owns around 35% of Mynt, while China's Ant Group holds about 34% stake.

Mynt started to break-even in the second half of 2021, and Jefferies expects that it could already account for around 20% for Globe Telecom's 2024 earnings.

Mynt's "profitability is soaring" while expecting earnings to be close to US$200 million in 2024, analysts have said.

Globe Telecom chief executive officer Ernest Cu, in a May interview, said GCash may go public in the Philippines in 2025. Cu also chairs Mynt.

Mynt predominantly fights in the startup market, with the Philippines' only other unicorn Voyager, a fintech firm, which enjoys a valuation of more than US$1 billion.

  - Reuters