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The Philippines
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Philippines’ sovereign wealth fund to be rolled out by year’s end, as Marcos Jnr reverses suspension

  • The president’s clarification came after a note showed he had apparently suspended the implementation of the law ‘pending further study’
  • Marcos said the public should not misinterpret the suspension as ‘a judgment of rightness or wrongness of the fund’

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Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr speaks during the Philippine Coast Guard founding anniversary in Manila. Marcos said the public should not misinterpret the suspension as “a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika fund”. Photo: EPA-EFE
SCMP’s Asia desk
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr expressed surprise on Thursday at reports that the country’s first sovereign wealth fund had been suspended, saying he was committed to pushing it through by the end of the year.
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Marcos Jnr said his administration was “finding ways to make the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) as close to perfect and ideal as possible”.

He said he was “a bit alarmed” by the news that the government had put the US$8.9 billion fund on hold.

“The organisation of the Maharlika fund proceeds apace. And what I have done though, is that we have found more improvements we can make,” Marcos Jnr said before departing for Saudi Arabia to attend the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, where he is planning to pitch the investment vehicle to key Middle Eastern business leaders.

Marcos Jnr’s clarification came after a memorandum signed by his executive secretary Lucas Bersamin released on Wednesday showed the president had suspended the implementation of the law he signed in July “pending further study”.

He also said the Philippine government was “encouraged by the reaction of our friends in the Middle East, and for that matter, around the world, to the fund, and we are very encouraged that we are going down the right path”.
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Marcos Jnr said the public should not misinterpret the suspension as “a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika fund”, adding inputs collected from multiple stakeholders would be used to make it a better organisation, ABS-CBN reported.

Shoppers at a market in Manila. The Maharlika fund will source cash from state banks and government-run corporations and invest it in currencies, bonds, equities and infrastructure projects. Photo: Bloomberg
Shoppers at a market in Manila. The Maharlika fund will source cash from state banks and government-run corporations and invest it in currencies, bonds, equities and infrastructure projects. Photo: Bloomberg
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