Sen. Mark A. Villar. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — The proposed Maharlika Wealth fund of the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., generated interest at the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF), a senator said.
Senator Mark Villar, who joined the Philippine delegation to Davos, Switzerland, for the WEF, said that during the annual meeting, many industry titans were enthusiastic about the proposed sovereign wealth fund.
“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,” Villar said, as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) in a statement on Wednesday.
(I was at the dialogue yesterday, and I can say that many showed their interest. They were interested in the Philippines and in the wealth fund.)
“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,” he added.
(This is a fund that we can use to ramp up our development, and as investors, they want to see that we are active in infrastructure, products, or funds that can help the government.)
Villar said that through the proposed wealth fund, the government would have additional income and improve the country’s fiscal situation.
Under the proposed Maharlika Wealth fund law, the government will be investing P110 billion, which will be sourced from the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Development Bank of the Philippines, and from dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Many, however, raised concerns about the bill’s first version, which proposed that funds would be sourced from state-owned pension funds Government Service Insurance System, and the Social Security System.
After public outcry, lawmakers removed the two pension funds as sources of funds for the MWF.
READ: Maharlika fund: Will the pros outweigh the cons?
The House of Representatives approved the proposed law on the third and final reading.
READ: Maharlika Bill breezes through House in 17 days
In his opening remarks at the Philippines Country Dialogue at the WEF, the President noted that the Philippines is currently in the process of setting up its first-ever sovereign wealth fund.
“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, as quoted by PCO.
READ: Marcos to ‘soft launch’ Maharlika Wealth fund in 2023 World Economic Forum
For his part, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the proposed Maharlika fund would help finance the infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
“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). Ngayon, kung mayroon tayong ganung fund pwede natin gamitin ‘yun para mapondohan ‘yun. ‘Yun ang purpose nun,” Diokno said.
(We have many projects that need funding, especially infrastructure ones. Usually, we borrow money from Japan, China, ADB, for those projects. We can use this fund to finance our infrastructure projects if we have this fund. That’s the purpose of it.)
Meanwhile, Transportation 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.
(They are impressed when we told them that our economy is growing at the rate of 6.5 to 7%)
“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.
(They even said it’s a very good performance, and they hope we will continue that good performance of the country.)
READ: Marcos Jr draws ‘very positive response’ from CEOs, Palace says
According to the PCO, 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 said it 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 Diokno.
For this year, the President 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.