Ant Financial and Ayala Corporation to Promote Equal Access to Financial Services in the Philippines with Investment in Globe Telecom's Mynt

USA - English

• India - English

MANILA, Philippines and HANGZHOU, China, Feb. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Philippine mobile operator Globe Telecom today announced that Ant Financial Services Group, one of the world's leading digital financial services providers, has entered into a strategic partnership with Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Capital Venture Holdings (GCVHI) under Globe Telecom, and Ayala Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines, to accelerate financial inclusion and upgrade payment services in the Philippines.

Ant Financial, parent company of Alipay, and Ayala Corp have signed the definitive documents to enter into an investment via subscription to new shares in Mynt, which operates GCash and Fuse Lending. GCash is an internationally-acclaimed micropayment service which can be used to buy prepaid load, pay bills, send money, make donations, shop online, and purchase goods without the need for cash. Fuse Lending offers personal and business loans to unbanked and underserved Filipinos through the use of mobile technology, alternative data, and innovative credit scoring methods.

Subject to the closing of the transaction, Ant Financial, will own a substantial minority interest in Mynt while Ayala Corp will acquire a minority interest. GCVHI will hold the remaining equity interest.

The fresh capital infusion will help Mynt achieve its vision of becoming a world-class online and offline payment provider as well as scale up its mobile wallet services and quickly expand its digital financial services.

The deal represents Ant Financial's first-ever investment in the Philippines and demonstrates the company's confidence in Mynt and its management team to upgrade digital financial services in the region. With this partnership, Ant Financial, whose suite of digital financial services includes Alipay, will share with Mynt its know-how in using technology to provide equal access to financial services.

"A world-leading digital financial services provider has decided to partner with us. We are confident that having a strategic partner for Mynt will help fulfill our mission of providing financial services in a non-traditional manner that will benefit the majority of our population who are unbanked. With this partnership, we are set to democratize financial services in the Philippines," said Ernest Cu, Globe President and Chief Executive Officer.

"We look forward to working with Mynt's innovative management team to provide simple, secure, low-cost and accessible digital financial services to unserved and underserved individuals and small and micro enterprises in the Philippines, thus helping individuals to live a better life and helping SMEs to grow and create more jobs," said Eric Jing, Chief Executive Officer of Ant Financial. "Ant Financial is committed to building an open, technology-based ecosystem with our partners."

"We are happy to be part of Mynt and capture the exciting opportunities in financial technology," said Ayala Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala. "We believe this is a great platform to redefine the country's financial services space amidst a robust consumer market and an increasingly digital environment. With the combined strengths of Ayala, Globe, and Ant Financial, we believe we can help more Filipinos gain access to safer, more convenient, and extensive payment and lending platforms." 

Leveraging the power of mobile and digital technology, Mynt is pioneering initiatives that provide financial services that previously were not available to most Filipinos. It is currently the biggest mobile money base in the Philippines with over 3 million registered customers and PHP1 billion worth of transactions per week.  Mynt is also the only company in the Philippines that serves as a one-stop shop for fintech services for consumers, merchants, and organizations through GCash and Fuse Lending.

About Globe

Globe Telecom is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services.  Its principals are Ayala Corporation and Singtel who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph.  Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/talk2Globe and Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlobePH

About Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc.

Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc. (GCVHI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom which consolidates strategic non-core businesses of Globe such as Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (GFI) and Adspark Holdings, Inc. (AHI).  It leverages on Globe Telecom's strength as a telecommunications company while developing and growing identified new ventures.

About Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt)

Mynt is a fully-owned subsidiary of Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc.that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its purpose is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get personal and business loans through use of mobile technology, alternative data, and innovative credit scoring methods. For more information, visit www.mynt.xyz

About Ayala Corporation

Ayala Corporation is one of the largest and most diversified business groups in the Philippines. Founded in 1834, Ayala has maintained dominant positions in various industries in the Philippines. Ayala's portfolio includes Ayala Land, the leading and the most diversified property developer in the country; Bank of the Philippine Islands, the first bank in the country and pioneering in major banking technologies in the Philippines; Globe Telecom, a major communications and broadband service provider in the country and; Manila Water, a regional player in water infrastructure services and development. Ayala also has interests in power generation, transport infrastructure, industrial technologies, healthcare, and education. Combined, the Ayala group has a market capitalization of $40 billion, comprising 20% of the market capitalization of the Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index.

About Ant Financial

Ant Financial Services Group is focused on serving small and micro enterprises, as well as consumers. With the mission "Bring equal access to financial services to the world," Ant Financial is dedicated to building an open ecosystem of Internet thinking and technologies while working with other financial institutions to support the future financial needs of society. Businesses operated by Ant Financial Services Group include Alipay, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit and MYbank. For more information on Ant Financial, please visit our website at www.antgroup.com or follow us on Twitter @AntFinancial.

SOURCE Globe Telecom, Inc.