“Soft launch” for the Maharlika Fund

PHILIPPINES - In Brief 20 Jan 2023 by Romeo Bernardo

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In Davos for this week’s World Economic Forum (WEF), President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. had been busy making a pitch for investing in the Philippines. Bringing with him his economic managers and select members of congress, and with the country’s most prominent tycoons in tow, the message he conveyed was that the Philippines is open for business after two years of covid-related lockdowns. In his conversation with WEF President Borge Brende, he cheerfully related his bet with IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, that the Philippine economy will beat the multilateral agency’s 5% GDP growth forecast this year and expand at least 6.5% as per government target. Earlier in the program, during the country strategy session, the President highlighted several investment opportunities including renewable energy, agro-processing and public-private partnerships in infrastructure. He added, in line with the pre-announced “soft launch” of the Maharlika fund, that “the process of establishing our first ever sovereign wealth fund is under way,” explaining that the fund “is one tool among many in our efforts to diversify our financial portfolio which includes our existing institutions pursuing investment that will generate stable returns but also welfare effects spanning employment creation, improvement of public service and a decrease in costs of economic activities.” Many thought the soft launch premature. So far, legislation to set up a Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), sponsored by the President’s cousin, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is still under discussion in the Senate. Considering the criticisms raised against the proposal since inception, expectations are th...