Marcos pushes Maharlika Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday pushed for the Maharlika Investment Fund among business leaders in Saudi Arabia. 

He said the Philippines also stood to gain from the kingdom's "extensive experience" in managing sovereign wealth funds.

Marcos made the pitch at a business roundtable meeting in Riyadh just hours after saying that the suspension of the MIF's implementing rules and regulations didn't mean the fund had been put on hold.

"We also stand ready to welcome you to our tropical country so you may personally see what a globally competitive Philippines can offer," Marcos said.

"At the forefront of these opportunities is the recently launched Maharlika Investment Fund, the Philippines’ first-ever sovereign investment fund designed to drive long-term economic development through increased investments in high-impact sectors," he added.

"We look forward to benefiting not just from Saudi investments, but also from the Kingdom’s extensive experience in managing such funds," Marcos said.

Marcos on Thursday clarified that the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) had not been put on hold, saying the government was working to have it operational within the year.

"I was a bit alarmed by the news reports early this morning that I read in the newspapers that we have put the Maharlika Fund on hold. Quite the contrary," Marcos said in a speech before leaving for Riyadh.

"The organization of the Maharlika Fund proceeds apace, and what I have done though, is that we have found more improvements we can make, specifically to the organizational structure of the Maharlika Fund," he added.

In a memorandum dated October 12, 2023, Marcos directed the suspension of the enforcement of the implementing rules and regulations of the MIF "pending further study."

In his speech, Marcos said the MIF concept as a sovereign fund remained "a good one and we are still committed to having it operational by the end of the year."

Marcos said the suspension of the IRR should not be misinterpreted as a judgement of rightness or wrongness of the MIF.

"On the contrary, we are just finding ways to make it as close to perfect and ideal as possible, and that is what we have done," Marcos said.

The President also maintained that economic managers and "personalities who will actually be involved in the fund" had been consulted regarding the MIF.

"This has been in consultation not only with  our economic managers but also with the people, the personalities who will actually be involved in the fund. And that’s why their inputs had been very important and that is why we are going to now utilize them to make it a better organization," Marcos said.

Marcos said the MIF would be introduced to Middle Eastern countries as part of his official trip to Saudi Arabia.

Marcos signed into law Republic Act No. 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023 in July, with the aim to tap state assets for investment ventures to generate additional public funds.

The law creates the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), a government-owned company that will manage the MIF — a pool of funds sourced from state-run financial institutions that will be invested in high-impact projects, real estate, as well as in financial instruments. —NB, GMA Integrated News