THE Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), the governing body of the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), held on Wednesday, January 3, 2023, its inaugural board meeting.
In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the MIC nominated chairpersons for Board Committees, created additional Committees, and tackled other administrative matters during their first meeting.
They also discussed the fund capitalization and potential sectors to tap to achieve multigenerational commercial, economic, and social development value creation.
Present during the meeting were DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who serves as the MIC chairperson in an ex-officio capacity; Presidential appointee MIC President and chief executive officer (PCEO) Rafael Consing Jr.; and directors Vicky Castillo Tan, Andrew Jerome Gan, German Lichauco II, and Roman Felipe Reyes.
The board also includes Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) PCEO Ma. Lynette V. Ortiz and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) PCEO Michael O. de Jesus.
Also present during the meeting was the Fund’s Advisory Body, which is composed of the secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) represented by Undersecretary Leo Angelo M. Larcia and Bureau of the Treasury (BTR) Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza.
The Advisory Body is tasked to guide the Board of Directors in the formulation of general policies related to investment and risk management.
Consing said the infrastructure; oil, gas, and power; agroforestry industrial urbanization; mineral processing; tourism; transportation; and aerospace and aviation were among the sectors that can be tapped to achieve multigenerational commercial, economic, and social development value creation.
The Board approved the presented Capitalization Scheme of the MIC amounting to P125 billion, which will be sourced from the Landbank of the Philippines (P50 billion), Development Bank of the Philippines (P25 billion) and the National Government (P50 billion).
The contribution from the National Government will come from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' total declared dividends, National Government's share from the income of Pagcor, properties, real and personal identified by the DOF-Privatization and Management Office, and other sources such as royalties and/or special assessments.
The MIC, created under Republic Act (RA) 11954 also known as MIF law, serves as the primary vehicle for mobilizing and utilizing the MIF for investments in transactions aimed at generating optimal returns on investments (ROIs).
The MIF is “designed to drive economic development” and widen the government’s fiscal space and ease pressure in financing public infrastructure projects.
It is also aimed to encourage foreign investors to invest in the Philippines.
During the meeting, Reyes was nominated to head the Audit Committee, while Tan was nominated to lead the Risk Management Committee.
The board approved the creation of the Investment Committee, Corporate Governance and Ethics, as well as Related Party Transactions Committees, Nomination and Remuneration Committee, and the Executive Committee to which Gan, Lichauco, Tan and Consing were nominated as heads, respectively.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) was named the Interim Fund Manager of the MIC.
Consing also updated the board on the staffing and recruitment of the MIC, as well as the hiring of its management team. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)