PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday, July 27, that Malaysian investors, who are the “most careful of all” in terms of investment considering their experience with the 1 Malaysian Development Berhad, have expressed interest in putting their money in the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
In an interview with reporters, Marcos said Malaysian businessmen want to know the specifics of the MIF first before making any investment.
“Hindi mag-i-invest ‘yan kung nakita nila, ‘Naku! Pareho ito doon sa naging problema dito’,” he said.
(They won't invest if they see, 'Oh! It's the same as the problem here.)
“So, as long as you can assure them that what their poor experience was here, the terrible things that happened here, hindi mangyayari sa fund natin (that won’t happen to our fund),” he added.
Marcos reiterated that the MIF will be “run professionally and without undue political influence” and the daily decisions on investments will be made by the financial managers who will be put in place.
Despite criticism and calls for it to undergo another round of scrutiny to ensure efficiency of the sovereign fund and to prevent corruption, Marcos signed into law on July 18, 2023 the bill seeking the establishment of the MIF.
Marcos earlier said that the MIF is “designed to drive economic development” and widen the government’s fiscal space and ease pressure in financing public infrastructure projects.
Marcos met with Malaysian businessman on Thursday where he said he gained support over the government’s initiative to improve its agriculture sector.
During the meeting, which was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Trade Secretary Alfred Pascual reported to the President the memorandum of agreement signed between the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) Business Advisory Council (BAC) Malaysia, represented by Tan Sri Nazir Razak and Asean BAC Philippines, represented by Joey Concepcion, the founder of Go Negosyo.
Through the MOU, Philippine companies and Malaysian entities agreed to jointly conduct studies and mentorship channels for potential agriculture, agriculture technology and food security in the Philippines.
They will also conduct studies on agri-preneurship business models and value chain development among small, medium and large farmers, enterprises, and government entities.
The joint venture is also interested in identifying the business requirements to develop trade and investment opportunities in palm oil, rubber, fruits, poultry, agri-tech and other agricultural products and services of Malaysia and the Philippines.
“It turns out that it is not only because we need to feed our people, we need to have accessible in price, accessible in terms of markets food supply to our people, it turns out that it is not only the survival aspect of food supply, but it is also the foundation of any strong economy,” Marcos said. (SunStar Philippines)