Maharlika holds investment course amid economic slowdown

Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) is keeping its investment strategy intact despite slowing economic growth by maintaining its focus on power and infrastructure projects in underserved provinces where demand for essential services remains strong.

MIC President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr. said the state-owned investment firm remains focused on addressing critical infrastructure gaps rather than tying its investment decisions to the pace of economic expansion.

“The answer is that we are not impacted by the weakness in GDP (gross domestic product) in terms of our investment strategy,” Consing told reporters at the sidelines of the ASEAN Investment Forum in Makati City on Tuesday.

He explained that MIC's investment priorities are driven by the need for essential infrastructure, particularly electricity, which remains critical to economic activity even during periods of weak growth.

“Our investments are not GDP growth enabled,” he said.

Consing cited Mindoro and Palawan as examples of areas where the need for reliable electricity continues to present investment opportunities regardless of the country’s economic performance.

“When we look at investing in Mindoro, investing in Palawan, for example, it’s not because GDP is not high, it’s because electricity is needed in those areas,” he said.

Beyond MIC's investment strategy, Consing also raised concerns over widening economic inequality, describing the economy as following a K-shaped trajectory in which wealth creation is concentrated among a small segment of the population while the majority struggles.

“I look at the economy, and I see a K-curve. You got, I would say, the top 5% generating significant wealth, creating significant wealth over the past two, five years, and you got the rest of the population, in fact, suffering,” he said.

“We need to help those in the lower part of the K. The way to do that is by enabling their areas with electricity, with infrastructure,” Consing added.

MIC, which manages the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is eyeing up to three additional investments worth as much as P4 billion before the end of the year.

The potential investments span utilities and infrastructure, industrials, and agriculture, subject to approval by the firm’s Board of Directors.

MIC deployed P18.77 billion in capital during the first nine months of the year, including a P15-billion working capital loan to Petron Corp. and P3.68 billion in additional cash payments for shares in Asian Terminals Inc.

The firm had initially targeted P35 billion in capital deployment for the year, although Consing earlier acknowledged that it would likely fall short of the goal.