3 Japanese firms commit to invest in Maharlika fund: Marcos

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has bared that three Japanese private firms made substantial commitments to the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

“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 in a media interview en route to Manila from Japan.

Aside from private sector commitments, he said there were also pledges that came from the Japanese government financial institutions but did not elaborate.

He earlier said the proposed MIF would be reviewed by Congress to make sure that its establishment would reap significant benefits for the country.

Certified by Marcos as urgent, House Bill (HB) 6608 or the MIF Act was approved by the House of Representatives on Dec. 15, 2022, and was transmitted to the Senate four days later.

It seeks the establishment of an independent fund that will be sourced from the investible funds of select government financial institutions (GFIs), contributions of the national government, declared dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and other funding sources.

The proposed MIF will 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.

It was introduced to the world stage by the government during Marcos’ attendance at the World Economic Forum ( WEF) in Davos, Switzerland last month.

More investments Meanwhile, Marcos expressed confidence that more investments will come to the Philippines on top of the deals signed during his successful working visit to Tokyo.

“That’s why we keep on doing this… the Japanese have been very forward-looking, in a sense na meron talaga silang mga pinaplano (that they’re really planning something) that are very new, taking advantage [of ] the new technologies,” he said.

He said he also looked forward to bolstering partnerships with

Japan in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation, which is a key part of his administration’s priority agenda.

Marcos said his working visit to Tokyo was mission accomplished given the “good results” obtained by the Philippine delegation.

The five-day visit has so far resulted in seven bilateral agreements and 35 investment deals amounting to USD13 billion or PHP 708.2 billion, estimated to generate around 24,000 jobs for Filipinos.

“All of the projects that were on the pipeline, I think we were able to finalize all of them. That’s a good result I think from this trip,” he added. ■