SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the Philippines would welcome Malaysian investors to the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), the country’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund.

In a press briefing, Romualdez confirmed that he would be part of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s delegation to Malaysia in the latter’s visit there slated from July 25 to 27.

Romualdez said the government is “very much open” to discuss more on the newly-enacted MIF during the three-day visit of Marcos in Malaysia.

He said the MIF is “not only beneficial but necessary,” in light of the fact that the country is now a “growing economy” who needs to entice foreign investors for purposes of ramping up the improving and recovering local economy.

“Isipin mo na lang ‘to, kung mayroon kang kapital, ‘yung isang bansang may kapital, saan mo dadalhin? Eh ‘di siyempre dadalhin mo sa isang bansa kung saan mataas ‘yung growth, ‘di ba?” Romualdez said. “While the Philippines can also offer investment opportunities, we see that the cost of debt has risen, making the need to explore other vehicles to attract equity financing such as Maharlika Investment Corporation,” Romualdez, president of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), added.

And at this early stage, the Speaker is very eager and bullish about the prospects of the MIF as a financial vehicle, citing as example the visit they had in Tokyo during the Congress break where many business leaders and investment houses expressed interest in Maharlika.

One institution he mentioned was the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

“We also heard from those in the Middle East, they are also interested. This is on top of those who followed it up with no less than the President (Marcos), during and shortly after we had the US visit. They were asking if this had been signed into law,” he further said.

Romualdez then revealed these US officials have “congratulated” President Marcos for the new law.

“I think Maharlika is starting with a more substantial seed capital and there’s already various commitments, I think it will be much larger than that,” the Speaker said, comparing it with Indonesia’s initial US $1 billion seed capital, but which later grew exponentially.

“These investments mean more development projects in various parts of the country, more jobs and livelihood for the Filipinos, and a better future for generations to come,” Romualdez projected.

Romualdez noted that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had projected that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will likely grow by 6.0 percent this year, the highest among major Southeast Asian countries.

For 2024, the ADB sees the Philippine economy growing by 6.2 percent. Meanwhile, it expects Indonesia to grow by 4.8 percent this year, Malaysia by 4.7 percent, Singapore by 1.5 percent, Thailand by 3.5 percent, and Vietnam by 5.8 percent.

He noted that the ADB projection is well within the range of our economic managers’ 6 0 to 7.0 percent growth assumptions for 2023 and 6.5 to 8.0 percent for 2024 to 2028, taking into account both domestic and external risks.

President Marcos will leave for Malaysia a day after delivering his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

It was only last March when Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had a two-day official visit to the Philippines.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas