Daily TribuneMaharlika Investment Fund will be mainly directed to tourism infrastructure, agro-urbanism, renewable energy and information and communications technology.
The Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) is set to start entering business activities with its recently approved investment and risk management framework and membership to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Finance Secretary and MIC chairperson Ralph Recto said the framework was approved by the MIC board on 18 July.
The MIC manages the Maharlika Investment Fund which is the country’s first sovereign wealth fund.
MIC president and chief executive officer Rafael Consing Jr. had said last November that the Maharlika Investment Fund will be mainly directed to tourism infrastructure, agro-urbanism, renewable energy and information and communications technology.
Not in project operations
“We don’t expect Maharlika itself to run projects. Rather we expect these potential joint ventures to take over and we will stand behind them as a major stakeholder or a significant minority stakeholder or in whatever way the board decides to participate,” he added.
In May, Consing said the MIC was especially looking at funding the development of energy transmission lines on islands, including Palawan.
“This is our strategy in the energy sector. A significant amount of capital is already interested in developing the generation side and there’s also an amount of capital for improving the distribution side,” he said.
Aside from the investment framework, Recto shared that the Philippines became a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) on 11 July.
The IFSWF requires states to practice the Santiago Principles which is a set of guidelines that reduces economic and financial risks to sovereign wealth funds, stabilize flow of capital and impose sound measures for accountability in case of huge losses in the fund.
The Finance Department said Consing will join discussions on global investors’ concerns at the IFSWF Annual General Meeting in Oman from 3 to 6 November.
The Maharlika Investment Fund has an initial capital of P75 billion contributed by the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines.
