Maharlika Investment Fund considering NGCP stake purchase

The president and CEO of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), Rafael Consing [link], backed a proposal from Martin Romauldez for the MIF to acquire a stake in the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP). Mr. Consing said he “fully endorses” Mr. Romauldez’s idea, saying that the NGCP “is the backbone of our nation's power system, and its stability is inextricably linked to the Philippines' economic and social well-being”. The NGCP is owned by Henry Sy Jr., Robert Coyiuto Jr. and China. Synergy Grid Philippines [SGP 7.94, up 18.5%; 1652% avgVol] is the parent company of NGCP.

MB bottom-line: For all the talk that the MIF wouldn’t be a player in the market, the first idea on the table is a very public purchase of listed shares of a massive PSE-listed company. These kinds of announcements are market-moving, as evidenced by SGP’s pump yesterday, so I hope that it’s a genuine pledge of interest that the MIF will unemotionally and diligently follow through to a conclusion rather than some political head-fake or powerplay meant to achieve some other end. There are legitimate nation-building reasons for the government to want a greater degree of control over the company that dominates the transmission of electricity in our country. 

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