About the Author

Mr. Lucas has been a journalist since 1999, having covered banking and finance, telecommunications, transportation, energy, capital markets and the presidential palace beats.

He has worked for The Business Daily, BusinessWorld, The Manila Times, Today and the Manila Standard Today. He spent 18 years at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, starting as a reporter in 2005 before becoming its business news editor until Dec. 31, 2023.

He earned a business management degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1994.

Latest from the Author

4 days ago

GCash makes P6.60 IPO price official, confirming InsiderPH report

By: Daxim L. Lucas

It is now official: GCash parent Mynt Inc. will offer its shares to the public at P6.60 apiece, confirming an InsiderPH report more than a week ago that major institutional investors were coming into the landmark initial public offering at that price.

5 days ago

INSIDER HOUR | The consumer goods man betting on Globe's next act

By: Daxim L. Lucas

The criticism that has followed Cruz since he took over the Ayala conglomerate’s telecommunications unit is that he is, at heart, still an FMCG man. "FMCG" is business shorthand for “fast moving consumer goods”, in reference to his long and successful career selling soap and shampoo — a very different industry from telecommunications. And the surprising thing is that he agrees.

23 Sep 2026

3:14PM

Heavyweights BlackRock, Fidelity anchor GCash IPO at P6.60 a share

By: Daxim L. Lucas

GCash’s cornerstone investors will come into its highly anticipated initial public offering at P6.60 per share, giving the market its clearest indication yet of how institutional investors are valuing the Philippine fintech giant: $7 billion.

17 Sep 2026

3:40PM

INSIDER INFO | Coming soon: Subscribe to GCash IPO via GCash app

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Sources say as many as 49 million verified GCash users could become eligible to participate in the IPO, provided they have completed the company's know-your-customer requirements, including identity verification and the submission of government-issued IDs. All of them could become stock market investors overnight for as little as P700.

7 Sep 2026

9:58AM

INSIDER FOCUS | Growth puts SM groups’ governance in the spotlight

By: Daxim L. Lucas

The listed holding company — whose businesses span retail, banking, property, geothermal energy and logistics — argues that governance is more than a compliance exercise. It is a management system that shapes how capital is allocated, risks are managed and long-term value is created.

11 Aug 2026

9:48AM

Finally! Filinvest, Globe boost mobile connectivity at Festival Mall, environs

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Filinvest Land plans to expand coverage deeper inside the mall and increase connection speeds. Better mobile service has become increasingly important as the company introduces digital services such as parking automation and shoppers rely more heavily on mobile payments.

31 Jul 2026

2:41PM

INSIDER VIEW | Regulatory stability: the missing ingredient for growth, confidence

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Nowhere is that fragility clearer than in the digital economy's gig sector, now one of the country's largest sources of livelihood: online sellers, delivery riders, drivers, freelancers, hundreds of thousands of families who found opportunity here precisely because these platforms didn't exist under the old rules.

22 Jul 2026

12:18PM

INSIDER VIEW | The price of coddling the Filipino consumer

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Paternalism has substantial costs, and they compound quietly over decades. A public that never learns to read a loan disclosure, never learns to walk away from a bad bank, never learns to question anything that "sounds too good to be true" is a warning worth heeding.

29 Jun 2026

2:47PM

INSIDER INFO | Polo Club row hits coaches, ball boys, service staff

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Just when members thought the Manila Polo Club couldn't find another controversy after the brewing debate over its proposed P1-billion tennis facility redevelopment, another issue has landed squarely on the clubhouse doorstep, this time involving the people who keep its sports facilities running every day.