Statement re Sovereign Wealth Fund proposal

The Philippines already has in existence variations of sovereign wealth funds: the Malampaya Fund, the National Development Company (NDC) and the BSP, SSS, GSIS all operate their reserves similar to sovereign wealth funds.

The more important reasons for sovereign wealth funds are to enable a country to get rare metals or strategic requirements for their country’s development and security, and maximizing the value of investment funds that normally come from excess reserves earned from commodities, minerals or from natural resources.

The experiences of other countries show both Successes and Failures of the concept, and of its actual management implementation.

Therefore, it is of extreme importance to do in-depth analysis and evaluation of the SWFs currently existing in the Philippines and in other countries, with emphasis on its Pros and Cons and its propensity for corruption and/or mismanagement and/or the vagaries of the global economy.

And true accountability must be intrinsic to the overseers of any Sovereign Wealth Fund. – Jose Luis U. Yulo Jr., president, Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, [email protected]