BIZ BUZZ: The first Maharlika chief

Now that Congress has passed the law creating Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC)—the corporate vehicle that will oversee the Philippine sovereign wealth fund called Maharlika Investment Fund—the next question on everyone’s mind is who will run the show.

Given the flak drawn by the proposed fund from economists and some private sector leaders, many of whom are just as concerned about the governance structure and not just viability, whoever will be handpicked to lead MIC (which has an authorized capital of P500 billion but will be initially capitalized at P125 billion, coming from Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and the national government itself) will be subject to just as much scrutiny as the proposed fund itself.

Three names have so far been consistently floated on the grapevine as potential nominees to lead the MIC. One is Rafael “Joel” Consing Jr., who gave up his post as chief financial officer of tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.-led International Container Terminal Services Inc., early this year to join the team of Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs.

Having controlled the purse of one of the few truly multinational Filipino enterprises for seven years, alongside his extensive banking background, is seen to make Consing a suitable candidate, given that the Maharlika fund adopts a hybrid model similar to the Indonesian sovereign wealth fund that grew much bigger using equity funding from external investors.

Another candidate, according to the grapevine, is Rosalia “Lea” de Leon, who shepherded in Congress the passage of the law creating the MIC. De Leon has mostly built a career in the public sector, and is an expert in fiscal policy and international finance. She also knows well the multilateral world, having served as alternate director at the World Bank in Washington. But some also say that De Leon is in the running for a seat at the Monetary Board (three seats are yet to be filled to date). If given the choice, she will likely prefer to join the Bangko Sentral’s highest policy-making body, we hear.

The third name we’re hearing is that of Bernie Vergara, who had built an illustrious investment banking career overseas (He was mostly based in Hong Kong but also worked in the United States and the United Kingdom) before coming back to the Philippines in 2010 to head the Government Service Insurance System. There he brought in global best practices in fund and risk management.

Of course there are so many capable and reputable Filipino banking and finance talents out there whom President Marcos could recruit to lead this pet project. The success of the fund, which will hopefully prove naysayers wrong, will depend on it.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla