MANILA -- The Philippines has to tailor fit a sovereign wealth fund that will suit its needs, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday, as he expressed his views on the planned Maharika sovereign fund.

“You know, going on about the fund, the more we study it, the more it’s clear that... although the sovereign wealth funds around the world have the same name, they’re all very different. They’re different in purpose, they’re different in methodology and of course, they operate in a different context of law,” President Marcos said in an interview with the media before flying to the Philippines.

“So we have to design it very specifically to the Philippine condition and that’s what the legislators are trying to do now to make sure na babagay para sa atin and it will be a good thing for us. So that’s the process that we’re undergoing now," Marcos pointed out.

The President said he received a suggestion from a business leader to raise money for the Maharlika fund through initial public offering (IPO), saying he’ll see if it will be appropriate for the country.

The proposed sovereign wealth fund of the Marcos administration received huge interest at the 2023 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

House Bill (HB) No. 6608, or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act (MIF), is an independent fund that adheres to the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability and shall be sourced from the investible funds of select government financial institutions (GFIs), from contributions of the national government, declared dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and other sources of funds.

Under the proposed measure, the fund shall be used to invest on a strategic and commercial basis in a manner designed to promote fiscal stability for economic development and strengthen the top-performing GFIs through additional investment platforms that will help attain the national government’s priority plans. 

In his remarks at the Philippines Country Strategy Dialogue at the WEF, the President said the country’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund is one tool among many efforts to diversify the country’s financial portfolio, which includes existing institutions pursuing investments, but also welfare effects spanning employment creation, improvement of public service, and a decrease in the costs of economic activities. (PND)