The proposed sovereign wealth fund of the Marcos administration has received huge interest at the 2023 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, a senator said Tuesday.
“Galing po ako sa dialogue kahapon at masasabi ko na marami po nagiging interested. Marami pong interesado sa Pilipinas at siyempre po sa wealth fund dahil ito ay isang pondo na nakikita nila na magagamit natin para lalong bumilis ang development ng ating bansa and of course as investors gusto rin nilang makita na active tayo sa infrastructure at sa mga products or funds that can help the government,” Senator Mark Villar said in an interview in Davos.
The lawmaker noted that the proposed sovereign wealth fund would generate income and improve the country’s fiscal health.
“Ito po ay isang investment at mayroon po tayong mga assets, nakaka-generate din ang government ng income pero hindi nama-maximize ‘yung income. So through the wealth fund, magkakaroon ng additional income and fiscally mag-i-improve ‘yung fiscal situation ng ating bansa,” Villar said.
House Bill (HB) No. 6608 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act (MIF), is an independent fund that adheres to the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability and shall be sourced from the investible funds of select government financial institutions (GFIs), from contributions of the national government, declared dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and other sources of funds.
Under the proposed measure, the fund shall be used to invest on a strategic and commercial basis in a manner designed to promote fiscal stability for economic development and strengthen the top-performing GFIs through additional investment platforms that will help attain the national government’s priority plans.
The bill was approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives on December 15, 2022 and was transmitted to the Senate on December 19, 2022.
In his opening remarks at the Philippines Country Strategy Dialog, President Marcos Jr. noted that the process of establishing the country’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund is underway.
“Such a fund is one tool among many in our efforts to diversify our financial portfolio, which includes our existing institutions pursuing investment that will generate stable returns, but also welfare effects spanning employment creation, improvement of public service, and a decrease in costs of economic activities,” Marcos said.
Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno, in a separate interview, pointed out that the proposed MIF would help fund the Philippines’ infrastructure projects.
“Kasi marami tayong proyekto na nangangailangan ng funding, infrastructure projects, pinanghihiram pa natin ng pera ‘yun from Japan, China, sa World Bank, ADB (Asian Development Bank). Eh ngayon, kung mayroon tayong ganung fund pwede natin gamitin ‘yun para mapondohan ‘yun. ‘Yun ang purpose nun,” Diokno said.
“So there are many projects. Talagang very important projects, priority projects. So ang nire-require namin bago kami mapunta sa isang project, kailangan maaprubahan ng NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) ‘no so mayroong prior approval ng NEDA. Eh ‘yung NEDA may mga requirements ‘yun na dapat talaga profitable tsaka it’s good for the economy,” the DOF secretary added.
Meanwhile, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said chief executive officers (CEOs) of big companies from Asia and Europe were impressed by the country’s growth rate.
“Impressed sila especially ‘yung kagabi [na] mga kausap namin when we told them that our economy is growing at the rate of 6.5 to 7 percent,” Bautista said in an interview.
“And sabi nga nila, it’s a very good performance and they hope that we will continue that good performance of the country,” Bautista said.
Grab Chairman and CEO Anthony Tan hosted a dinner for President Marcos on Monday.
The President’s investment pitch for the Philippines received “a very positive response” from some of the world’s top CEOs and investment experts.
The Marcos administration expects a strong full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2022, most likely much faster than its growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent, according to the finance chief.
For this year, President Marcos said the government projects the country’s economy to grow by around 7 percent.
“Our actual projection is 6.5 but there are signs that we might be able to surpass that,” Marcos said. #
