Marcos to pitch Maharlika fund in 'soft launch' at World Economic Forum
MANILA, Philippines — The proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund will be “soft launched” by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next week.
While the House of Representatives has already approved the bill to create the sovereign fund, the Senate has yet to deliberate on it. Also dominated by administration allies, the Senate has identified the bill as among its legislative priorities for this year.
READ: Marcos says Philippines ‘needs’ Maharlika fund
"The World Economic Forum is simply a great venue to do sort of [a] soft launch for our sovereign wealth fund, given the prominence of the forum itself and the global and business leaders who will be there and they will hear it directly from the president," Carlos Sorreta, undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations at the Department of Foreign Addairs, said in a press briefing on Thursday.
According to Sorreta, other countries and business leaders have also done similar “soft launches” of their local initiatives of business product during past WEF events.
READ: What's inside the 'refined' Maharlika Wealth Fund bill?
Marcos Jr., along with the country’s economic team of government officials and business leaders, will be in Davos next week, from January 16 to 20. He is said to be the only leader from the ASEAN and one of the only two leaders from Asia who will attend the forum.
The chief executive will focus his discussions on the country’s and the region’s economic potentials. He will also discuss the country’s priorities in nutrition, food security, and energy.
While in Davos, Marcos Jr. will also participate in high-level discussions with other leaders, namely the president of South Africa, the Prime Minister of Belgium, and the president of the European Commission. The DFA said other meetings with other leaders are still being finalized.
Meanwhile, Marcos Jr. will also take time with the Filipino community in Switzerland and in other parts of Europe during his trip. Attendance signups now at 700, DFA officials said.
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