Maharlika fund pitched to APAC lawmakers

THE Maharlika Investment Corp., the entity that would manage the country's Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), was pitched to Asia-Pacific parliamentarians on the sidelines of the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), according to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

After the last day of the annual gathering of lawmakers in the Asia-Pacific region on Saturday, Romualdez told reporters that he broached the MIF to the parliamentarians.

«On the sidelines, we mentioned that we have the Maharlika Investment Corporation law,» he said.

He said that there is a «great future» for parliamentarians to promote the Philippines' first sovereign wealth fund due to the country's bright economic prospects and its vibrant democracy.

«Apparently, they see this as a promising investment center and a haven for all sovereign wealth funds, so I think the MIF will have a good future,» Romualdez added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed former investment banker Rafael Consing Jr. as the fund's first-ever president and chief executive officer with a three-year term.

Also, Romualdez said that some parliamentarians expressed their intention to return for a visit.

«The hospitality, the respect, the accommodations, the preparation was really good, the arrangements seamless… the hard work, the overtime performance surprised the parliamentarians. The Filipinos are good at everything, from education, arts, industry, we have it,» he said.