Maharlika defers investment in Synergy Grid

Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which manages the Philippine sovereign wealth fund, on Thursday confirmed that it has paused the proposed investment in Synergy Grid & Development Phils Inc. (SGP), amid the current conditions.

According to MIC president and chief executive officer Rafael Consing Jr., the agency has already informed SGP of the deferment of its further investment in SGP, following its evaluation of the proposed transaction.

“MIC won’t proceed for the time being with our proposed transaction, and the devision really followed our continuing evaluation of the transaction,” he told reporters in a briefing in Taguig City.

“As the terms developed over the course of detailed negotiations, also within the context of what’s happening currently in geopolitics, we’ve decided to reassess and within the perspective of our current investment priorities and our responsibility to exercise prudent stewardship of public funds, we decided to defer out further investment,” he added.

MIC last year announced a 20% stake acquisition in SGP, giving it two board seats in the company, and another two in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

According to MIC, the decision has no effect on SGP’s capital structure or financial status, on NGCP’s operations, and the delivery of transmission services.

“The Government’s interest in a secure and reliable transmission network remains unchanged, and continues to be served through the regulatory framework that governs the grid,” it said in a separate statement.

“As a matter of policy, MIC does not comment on the terms of its transactions,” it added.

The Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund was signed into law in July 2023 through Republic Act No. 11954, establishing the MIC as the state-run entity tasked with managing the fund and investing government assets to generate additional public revenue. — BM, GMA New

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