Latest news with #GlobeTelecom
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Philippine Fintech GCash to Split Stocks Ahead of Possible IPO
The company behind the Philippines' top mobile wallet GCash has approved a stock split to increase the number of its common shares amid plans for an initial public offering. Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. will reduce the par value of its common shares to 0.03 peso per share from 1 peso and increase the number of authorized common shares to 71.7 billion from 2.15 billion, according to shareholders Ayala Corp. and Globe Telecom Inc.
GMA Network
4 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
AI plays larger role as Globe activates 235 new 5G sites in 2025
A total of 235 new 5G sites all over the country were activated by Globe Telecom in the first quarter of 2025 with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Globe said the 5G sites support over 9.5 million devices nationwide. 'AI is central to this scale, providing live operational dashboards, build prioritization, and predictive maintenance across network assets,' it said. Aside from this, AI is also reshaping how Globe hire, plan, solve problems, and connect. 'Today we're using AI to speed up automation,' said Carl Cruz, Globe President and CEO. 'We're also using it to elevate and improve the quality of decisions, and make our operations more responsive. Innovation only matters if it creates real impact.' The telecom company said its Human Resources group has fully integrated AI into its recruitment process through the use of HireVue, an AI-powered platform that combines video interviews with skills assessments to help evaluate candidates more objectively and effectively. Globe piloted its AI-powered video and coding assessments for digital, IT, and tech-focused groups at the start of the year. The successful pilot led to a full-scale rollout across all groups, including its portfolio companies. The shift replaced manual pre-screening and cut the overall hiring cycle from weeks to just a few days. Processing qualitative data alone, which previously took three to five days, was cut down in half, enabling faster candidate turnaround and more confident decision-making from hiring teams. As a result of these efforts, Globe received the Impact Star Award at the 2025 HireVue Customer Excellence Awards last April. The award celebrates organizations that have made a meaningful impact and driven innovation through skills-based, tech-enabled recruitment. Globe was previously named a Rising Star at the 2024 awards, highlighting its continued commitment to modernizing hiring for both speed and quality. AI has also played a pivotal role in strengthening Globe's Risk Management processes. By automating data capture, transcription, and insight generation, AI significantly reduced data processing time—delivering results within days instead of weeks. Real-time dashboards also allowed teams to visualize and compare risks at both group and company levels, making data more digestible and actionable for leadership. This automation also helped in mitigating human bias in data interpretation, and enabled more accurate linkages between identified risks and corporate strategy. Globe said it is exploring AI-powered tools for proactive risk scanning and identifying emerging threats before they escalate. Meanwhile, Globe's Network Group is leveraging AI in streamlining internal processes to enhance service quality. Teams now use AI from coding and data forecasting to anomaly detection and repair diagnostics. The company has also implemented AI-assisted power-saving solutions through the EdgeWise platform, optimizing energy consumption by temporarily shutting down low-traffic transceivers in its Radio Access Network. In the area of Marketing, AI is being used to accelerate content creation, simplify workflows, and improve internal knowledge sharing. Teams rely on tools like Gemini and ChatGPT to draft memos, presentations, and reports, while design platforms like Canva Magic Studio help quickly produce high-impact visuals. Knowledge bases and technical guidelines are also being managed more efficiently using NotebookLM and custom-built AI search tools. Beyond productivity, AI enables quicker, more inclusive storytelling—from employee communications to public campaigns—allowing the Marketing team to move at the speed of the business. 'Our ambition is clear,' Cruz said. 'We want Globe to be among the most admired companies in the country. We use technology with empathy, insight and purpose to better serve our customers. This is how we will make Globe resilient, by enabling our people with better tools to build our business for the future.' —RF, GMA Integrated News
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Globe Telecom CEO says Philippines can cope with US tariffs' impact
The Philippines could withstand the impact of US tariffs due to its high levels of domestic consumption, the new CEO of Globe Telecom has said, as he laid out his vision for the telecommunications company 's future anchored in artificial intelligence. Carl Raymond Cruz, who was elevated to the role of CEO and president of Globe Telecom in April, also said that the company was waiting for the 'right time' to launch the highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) for its e-wallet affiliate GCash, owing to uncertainties in the capital markets. GCash is operated by Mynt, which is a joint venture that includes Globe Telecom. Cruz replaced Ernest Cu, who led Globe Telecom for 16 years, at a time of profound uncertainty in the global economy as a result of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Philippines was initially facing a 17 per cent tariff on all its exports to the US, though that was later reduced to a baseline 10 per cent levy when Trump announced a 90-day pause in Washington's so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' for all countries except for China last month. When asked by the Post in a recent interview whether he was concerned about the tariffs, Cruz said that there was a belief within Globe Telecom and the wider Filipino business community that the country would be able to withstand their impact.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The new CEO of the Philippines' largest telco says his Nigeria and India experience taught him to ‘never underestimate' any market
Carl Raymond Cruz, the incoming CEO of Globe Telecom, has experience with the "pecularities" of different markets. The Philippines' native has worked in several different markets, including Sri Lanka, India and Nigeria. Cruz just took over the Filipino telco as its new chief executive, replacing Ernest Cu, who's run the Southeast Asia 500 company for over a decade. Nigeria, where Cruz was based before joining Globe, is an economy where 'volatility was on steroids.' Cruz was the CEO of Indian telco Airtel's Nigeria operations, from May 2023 to December 2024. 'During my time the local currency moved from 519.6 Naira to the dollar to 750 Naira to the dollar in a span of three weeks, and a further eight weeks onwards, that became over 1100 Naira to the dollar,' Cruz remembers. 'Inflation shot up to close to 41-42% in parts of the country.' That experience taught Cruz to 'never underestimate' any market. 'I could have said 'oh, this is 10-15 years behind the Philippines' and that, even with my eyes closed, I know what to do,' he says. But he didn't take that approach, and found that 'true enough, there are peculiarities in every market.' Cruz joined Globe as deputy CEO in January, before taking over as CEO on Tuesday. He's relatively new to the telecoms industry. Much of his career was spent in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, working with Unilever across several different markets. But Cruz says he was always attracted to the telecoms industry. Both FMCG and telecoms focus on consumers, but you 'feel the impact more in telecommunications,' Cruz says, given that it serves as the backbone of the digital economy. When Airtel Nigeria approached him, Cruz didn't hesitate to jump ship—in part due to his 'bias' for Indian companies, stemming from his India experience. 'I do like the rigor of how great Indian companies work. I like the operational intensity,' Cruz says. Cruz wants to tap the Philippines' fast growing digital economy to grow Globe's user base. While Globe is leads the telco sector by market cap and in mobile users, Cruz wants to make Globe a key player in both broadband and fibre, as well as in enterprise services. 'We want to be the most admired, the most profitable and the largest. Because while we are number one in mobile, our place and our footing in the other two segments can be improved,' Cruz says Part of Globe's network includes GCash, the finance super-app run by Globe affiliate Mynt. Cruz, previously, had noted that a GCash IPO could come as early as the final quarter of the year. 'We haven't filed any proposal or application to list at this point in time. The focus is making sure that we are ready when the right time comes,' Cruz says. Cruz notes that Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs are part of the reason why he wants that flexibility for a GCash IPO. But while Trump's pivots on trade policy have caused global uncertainty, Cruz is confident the Philippines can withstand any major shocks. 'Inflation is going down below 3%. GDP is hovering between 5.5 to 6%. We have a very stable [business process outsourcing] sector and 72% of the GDP is from domestic consumption,' Cruz says. 'From a macro perspective, the Philippines will be resilient.' This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Fintech Unicorn GCash May Delay Philippines' Biggest IPO If US-China Trade War Escalates
A customer pays with GCash in Manila, the Philippines, Nov. 11, 2017. Mynt—operator of the Philippines' most popular e-wallet GCash and backed by the billionaire Zobel de Ayala family—may defer its IPO should the intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China escalate and continue to roil markets. The GCash operator is owned 36% by Globe Telecom, a joint venture between Singapore Telecom and Ayala Corp, which is owned by billionaire Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family. Mynt's other investors include the Philippine conglomerate's AC Ventures, China's Ant Financial and Japan's MUFG Bank. Globe Telecom and Mynt are working to make the fintech 'push-button ready' to hold an IPO once market conditions improve, Carl Cruz, the newly appointed CEO of Philippine mobile carrier. 'All the requirements are being prepared so that when the right time comes the IPO is going to happen,' Cruz told Forbes Asia on the sidelines of his maiden media briefing as Globe Telecom CEO. 'It has to be the best possible condition for the IPO to happen. If market conditions deteriorate then we will have to take a position.' Mynt's IPO, which is anticipated by some analysts to raise between $1 billion and $1.5 billion later this year, will be the biggest maiden share sale in the Philippines since the 2021 listing of Monde Nissin, which raised $1 billion. GCash has been contributing positively to Global Telecom with the phone company's share of Mynt's earnings in 2024 reaching 3.8 billion pesos, up from 2.4 billion pesos in 2023 and 808.3 million pesos in 2022. Globe Telecom reported 21.5 billion pesos in core net income last year. Mynt in August received $800 million from AC Ventures and MUFG Bank, valuing the fintech company at $5 billion, making it the most valuable Philippine unicorn. GCash is used by eight out of 10 Filipinos, according to Globe. The platform has over six million merchants with services ranging from payments, lending, insurance and investments. Ayala Corp. is the country's oldest conglomerate that was started by the grandfather of Jaime Zobel de Ayala, the family patriarch, in 1834 as a distillery. Today, the Manila-listed company has expanded into banking, energy, utilities and real estate. With a net worth of $2.6 billion, the family is among the richest in the Philippines.
