Banking on the Philippines’ supposed moniker as “the Rising Star of Asia,” six leaders of the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Martin Romualdez and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, have filed a measure for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund for the Philippines.
House Bill 6398 proposes the creation of the Maharlika Investments Fund (MIF), with the seed money of P250 billion coming from the four top performing government financial institutions (GFIs), namely: the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Land Bank of the Philippines (Land Bank), and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The House leaders said the MIF is meant to “promote fiscal stability” and strengthen the profitability of the state-run banks as well as the fund life of the pension firms. It is patterned after sovereign wealth funds abroad, which are state-owned and financed by budget surpluses and government reserves. Bill proponents likened the proposal to Singapore’s GIC Private Ltd., as well as similar efforts in China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.
Under the bill, the MIF will be invested in a wide array of financial and real assets, including: Cash, foreign currencies, metals and other tradeable commodities; fixed income instruments; domestic and foreign bonds; listed or unlisted equities; mutual and exchange-traded funds, and commercial real estate and infrastructure projects.
The MIF will be managed by the Maharlika Investments Corporation (MIC), whose board members will include the Finance Secretary, nominees of the contributing GFIs, and two independent directors.
Other lawmakers who filed the bill are: House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe, Tingog Party-list Reps. Jude Acidre and Yedda Romualdez, and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo.