Maharlika to make 1st investment 'definitely' in 'first quarter'

According to statements made by Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) CEO Rafael Consing [link], the MIC is preparing to make its first investment “definitely the first quarter.” Referring to all of FY24, Mr. Consing said, “I think we had a year to set up. We had a year to basically put our governance in place.” The MIC controls P75 billion in taxpayer funds from the Development Bank of the Philippines (P25 billion) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (P50 billion). Those funds were transferred to the Bureau of the Treasury back in September 2023. Mr. Consing said that the MIC earned P2.3 billion in interest income in FY24.

MB bottom-line: He said Q1, but he didn’t say which fiscal year! Seriously, this fund has been saying things like this literally since the day it was born. In August it was to make its first move “within 90 days” (that lapsed eight days ago). Last January, Mr. Consing told a reporter while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos that MIC was prepping its first investment “in the next 90 to 120 days” (that lapsed in May), and back in May, Mr. Consing said that the MIC would make commitments for fund deployment in FY24 (that lapsed on New Year’s Day). Remember the breathless rush and bluster used to ram this fund’s enacting law through the House and Senate? Remember all the press releases about how it was critical for this fund to begin operations right away so that Filipinos might be sooner spoiled by the social dividends pouring forth from its investments? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Imagine doing all that just to earn 3% interest. But hey, at least they made a new logo.

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