Maharlika Fund rules finalized, Marcos reveals

The revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Maharlika Investment Fund have been finalized, President Marcos said yesterday.

“Upon our approval, we will swiftly establish the corporate structure, getting the MIF up and running,” Mr. Marcos said in a statement posted on his social media accounts.

The IRR of the country’s first sovereign fund was released in August and was supposed to take effect in September, but the Palace suspended its implementation “for further study” last month.

Among those who met with Mr. Marcos at the Palace prior to his announcement was Government Service Insurance System head Jose Arnulfo Veloso.

Under the original IRR, the Maharlika Investment Corporation, with an authorized capital stock of P500 billion, shall act as the sole entity to mobilize and utilize the MIF for investments in transactions that will generate optimal returns on investments while contributing to the overall goal of reinvigorating job creation and accelerating poverty reduction by sustaining the economy’s high growth trajectory.

The MIC’s board of directors will be composed of the Secretary of Finance as ex officio Chairperson; the President and Chief Executive Officer (PCEO) of the MIC as Vice-Chairperson; President and CEO of the LBP; President and CEO of the DBP; two Regular Directors; and three Independent Directors from the private sector.

Under section 14, the MIC is authorized to invest in a wide-range of products, activities and projects, such as cash and other tradable commodities; fixed income instruments issued by sovereigns; domestic and foreign corporate bonds; listed or unlisted equities; and Islamic investments, such as Sukuk bonds, among others.

The MIC may issue all kinds of bonds, debentures, and securities but these will not be guaranteed by the Philippine government.

The Palace has yet to release the revisions on the original IRR.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, in an interview last week, said the board of directors of MIC will likely be named this month.

After that, Pangandaman said, the first organizational meeting could happen in December and full-blast operations might begin in January 2024.

The MIC will have an initial capitalization of P125 billion. Land Bank and DBP have already transferred their contributions, as the founding government financial institutions, of P50 billion and P25 billion, respectively, to the account of the Bureau of the Treasury.

The remaining P50 billion of MIC’s initial capitalization will come from the national government. One of the sources is dividend remittances of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. BSP has already remitted P31.859 billion for 2023.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.