MIC sees PH upside despite slowdown

MANILA, Philippines — The Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) remains optimistic about Philippine investment opportunities, pledging to invest in projects that meet the country’s needs despite sluggish economic growth.

During the first-ever ASEAN Sovereign Wealth Fund Forum, MIC President and CEO Rafael Consing Jr. stated that the weak economic growth did not affect the investment strategy of the sovereign wealth fund.

“Our investments are not GDP growth-enabled. I look at our economy, and I see a K-curve. You have the top 5 percent generating significant wealth, and you’ve got the rest of the population suffering. My view is we need to help those in the lower part of that curve,” Consing said.

“The way to do that is by enabling their areas with electricity, with infrastructure. When we invest, for example, in Mindoro, it’s not because GDP is currently at a [certain] level. It’s because those areas need electricity. And solving those electricity issues will, in fact, solve our own electricity cost because we’re subsidizing it,” he added.

Philippine economic growth further lost steam in the third quarter, slowing to 2.1 percent from 2.4 percent in the previous quarter and marking the fifth consecutive quarter of deceleration.

Against this backdrop, MIC is moving ahead with two to three additional investments worth a combined P2.5 billion to P4 billion across utilities, infrastructure, industry and agriculture.

Consing stated that they would most likely announce these investments by the end of the year, although they would only begin deployment next year.

He added that they hope to see other sovereign wealth funds co-invest in Philippine projects eventually. For now, however, MIC will keep its investments onshore.

“I don’t see ourselves crossing the border until we’ve developed certain levels of surplus that we can hedge. But for now, because the absorptive capacity of the country is still great when it comes to accepting investments, I think we should be investing onshore,” he said.

IFSWF membership

Consing, whose term ends in about two weeks, announced that MIC has applied for full membership in the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF).

“We submitted our application just last week. I’m hoping that it will get approved at the International Sovereign Wealth Forum happening tomorrow,” Consing said, adding that they hoped to receive the approval next week.

MIC became an associate member of the IFSWF on July 11, 2024, giving it access to international networking and peer-learning opportunities as it works toward full membership.

Founded in 2009, the IFSWF is a global organization that promotes good governance practices among sovereign wealth funds. It currently has 38 full members and eight associate members, including the Philippines. /pai