‘Foreign investors express interest in MIF’

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign investors have expressed interest in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), according to the government economic team.

In a joint statement, the economic team of the Marcos administration said that the establishment of the MIF is a vehicle for economic growth for the Philippines.

The economic team is composed of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

Economic managers said that the MIF is not only beneficial, but also necessary at this time, saying the government needs to explore various financial vehicles to attract equity financing.

While the MIF bill has yet to be signed into law by President Marcos, the economic team said it has already received expressions of interest from potential investors.

“Some international investors have already expressed interest in investing, such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation as well as several US investors,” the economic team said.

“Certainly, there will be more interest once the MIF is officially launched,” the team said.

Just last week, faculty members of the University of the Philippines-School of Economics (UPSE) released a discussion paper calling on Marcos to reconsider the final approval of the bill.

UPSE maintained that the bill violates fundamental principles of economics and finance and poses serious risks to the economy and the public sector.

The economic team, however, argued that the MIF is an investment for the future that needs to be built now.

“It is an ideal vehicle and well-positioned to bring in investments as the Philippine economic outlook remains robust amid the global economic slowdown,” the team said.

The MIF, through the Maharlika Investment Corp., aims to execute and sustain high-impact infrastructure and development projects, ease fiscal constraints and maximize expected returns for the country’s investments.

The fund targets to invest funds that are available in government instrumentalities and utilize them for investment purposes on the basis of their individual mandates.

“The purpose of the MIC’s investments is to generate high returns so that national wealth is expanded and profitable socio-economic projects are financed and implemented,” the economic team said.

These include investments in financial instruments, real property, and both physical and digital infrastructure.

In its statement, the economic team maintained that the success of the MIF will allow the country to move away from its reliance on foreign and domestic loans to fund annual budgetary requirements.

Further, the economic team noted that investing in Maharlika can allow government financial institutions to obtain medium to long-term returns that are higher than their 10-year average return.

Based on the final version of the bill, the initial capitalization will come from the P50 billion of the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) and P25 billion of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

The expected return of Maharlika is estimated to be around 8.6% on average, above Landbank’s 4.23 percent and DBP’s 3.59 percent.

“The public can remain confident in the stability of the Land Bank and the DBP even given their investment in the MIC,” they said.