Marcos pitches Maharlika fund to Saudi investors

RIYADH: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued his push for the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) in Saudi Arabia, saying the Philippines is looking forward to benefiting «from the Kingdom's extensive experience in managing such funds.»

Marcos made mention of the MIF during a roundtable meeting with Saudi business leaders on Thursday in Riyadh where he urged them to explore the Philippines as an investment hub.

«At the forefront of these opportunities is the recently launched Maharlika Investment Fund, the Philippines' first-ever sovereign investment fund designed to drive long-term economic development through increased investments in high-impact sectors,» Marcos said.

«We look forward to benefiting not just from Saudi investments, but also from the Kingdom's extensive experience in managing such funds,» he added.

The President made the pitch for the MIF event after he suspended the implementation of the law, pending a review of its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

«The organization of the Maharlika Fund proceeds apace. And what I have done though, is that we have found more improvements we can make, specifically to the organizational structure of the Maharlika Fund,» Marcos said in his speech before his flight to Saudi Arabia.

«The concept of the Maharlika fund as a sovereign fund, an investment fund...remains a good one and we are still committed to having it operational by the end of the year,» he added.

Marcos said the public should not misinterpret the suspension as «a judgment of the rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika fund.»

«On the contrary, we are just finding ways to make it as close to perfect and ideal as possible, and that is what we have done,» he said.

«This has been in consultation not only with economic managers but also with personalities who will actually be involved in the fund,» he added.

The President is in Saudi Arabia to participate at the 2023 Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit (Asean-GCC) that will be held in Riyadh, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Friday.

In the same speech on Thursday, Marcos reaffirmed the Philippines «readiness for deeper economic partnerships not just within the Southeast Asian