Palace: Saudi investors interested in Maharlika

RIYADH — Two of Saudi Arabia’s largest financial institutions have expressed interest in the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), the Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said yesterday.

Garafil said these companies are the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, and Jada, one of the kingdom’s biggest investment companies.

Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia executive general manager Mulhan Albakree and Jada chief executive officer Bandar Al Hamali participated in the roundtable meeting with President Marcos, organized by the Department of Trade and Industry and Saudi’s Ministry of Investment, at the St. Regis Hotel here on Thursday.

Marcos, accompanied on his trip here by his economic managers, including Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, said he hopes the Philippines would learn from Saudi Arabia’s “extensive” experience in managing sovereign wealth funds.

In pitching for the MIF, the President told Saudi business leaders that the sovereign fund was designed to drive long-term economic development through increased investments in high-impact sectors.

“At the forefront of these (investment) opportunities is the recently launched MIF… We look forward to benefiting not just from Saudi investments, but also from the Kingdom’s extensive experience in managing such funds,” he said.

Diokno, at the meeting, also made a pitch for Maharlika, assuring Saudi business leaders that the establishment of the fund would proceed as scheduled.

“Maharlika aims to attract capital from both domestic and global equity investors, including large funds in the Middle East seeking to diversify its portfolio in fast-growing emerging markets like the Philippines,” Diokno said.

“The fund also presents exciting opportunities for green and blue investments, ESG-linked fixed-income instruments and cutting-edge technologies with the advent of artificial intelligence and cloud computing,” he explained.

‘Exciting’

In a statement, meanwhile, Speaker Martin Romualdez also noted the “keen interest” expressed by Saudi business leaders in the Maharlika Fund, after being invited by the President to invest in it.

“This invitation represents an exciting opportunity for our nation, and I believe it will receive a positive response from the Saudi business community,” Romualdez said.

“It aligns perfectly with our vision of fostering international partnerships and diversifying our sources of investment for the benefit of our people,” he maintained.

Saudi Ministry of Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih has affirmed Saudi businessmen’s interest in the MIF.

“I am pleased that we are joined today by leaders and the sector from Saudi Arabia who are eager to learn more about the investment opportunities and one of ASEAN’s most exciting markets and learn more about the newly launched Maharlika Investment Fund that you have launched under your administration,” he said.

“We want to connect you to key Saudi investors with impressive success stories to share and with the desire to continue building with international presence by investing with partners across the globe, the Philippines being a key one,” Al-Falih said.

Before departing for Riyadh on Thursday, Marcos clarified the MIF is “being improved” – not put on hold – to make it “as close to perfect and ideal as possible.”

He made the clarification after issuing a memorandum dated Oct. 12 – through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin – ordering the “suspension of the implementing rules and regulations” of Republic Act 11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2023.

Diokno said the MIF would be fully operational by the end of the year.

Marcos is in Riyadh for the inaugural Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit. This is Marcos’ first visit to the Middle East as President. — Louise Maureen Simeon, Sheila Crisostomo