Marcos says 3 Japanese firms looking to invest in Maharlika Wealth Fund

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos Jr. administration said they’ve secured commitments from three Japanese firms to invest in the Maharlika Investment Fund, as the government tries to drum up support for the controversial bill.

In a statement on Sunday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not named any of these private Japanese firms. 

“We have some commitments but I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to name who they are. But they have – there were already three commitments, substantial amounts that they are willing to invest in the fund. So we can begin there,” Marcos said. 

The Maharlika Investment Fund is currently making the rounds on the Senate floor, where its facing rough waters after a smooth sailing in the House Representatives. Two weeks back, senators dissected the bill and found some problems, including the measure’s silence on how state-owned banks that would invest a heft amount of capital in the fund could have some return of investment.

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Maharlika is also exempted from the government’s Procurement law and the Salary Standardization law. The latter would remove ceilings on how much an individual could earn in return for working at Maharlika.

As it is, the current version of the sovereign wealth fund, as passed by House lawmakers, stated that Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines would provide seed capital. 

The LBP would be contributing P50 billion as initial capital for the Maharlika, while the DBP would inject P25 billion.

Aside from this, the administration is eyeing the sale of state-owned assets, such as casinos and power plants, to bankroll the fund’s initial capitalization.

READ: Marcos administration eyes sale of government assets to fund Maharlika

Marcos said the government has already bagged a mix of pledges from government institutions and the private sector. 

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno expects that Maharlika Investment Fund would be passed into law by the middle of 2023.