DEPARTMENT of Finance (DOF) secretary Benjamin Diokno said he expects the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) to be up and running before the end of 2023.
In a briefing with members of the media, Diokno said the fund would have at least P100 billion in capital by year end.
He said the board of the Landbank of the Philippines already approved its P50 billion investment in the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) as mandated by law on Friday morning, July 21, while the Bangko Sentral of the Philippines Monetary Board also declared a dividend of P31.859 billion in favor of the national government on Thursday.
National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon, who joined Diokno in the briefing, said she also expects the board of the Development Bank of the Philippines to approve their P25 billion contribution soon.
“It is safe to say that the fund is well-capitalized at the very start and we can start na by the end of the year. So if there are investible projects that we can apply those money, that P100 billion, then we will,” said Diokno.
But Diokno noted that the Treasury may have to hold that money while the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the MIF is still being drafted.
“There’s no mechanism in the law on how they will remit the money to the corporation and the corporation still has to be organized so we will wait for the IRR. Maybe they can give it to the Treasury in escrow. When the corporation is organized, that’s when the Treasury will transfer to the corporation,” he said.
As for the IRR, Diokno said it will be ready before the end of August.
The promulgation of the IRR will then also pave the way for the appointment of regular and independent directors of the MIC, which Diokno said may be completed around September.
Diokno, meanwhile, reiterated that he will only serve as ex-officio chairman of the MIC’s Board of Directors.
“Let me make it crystal clear, the Finance secretary will not manage the fund. That role is entrusted to the president and CEO of the Maharlika Investment Corporation and its directors,” said Diokno.
The Finance chief, who recently went to Canada for a roadshow, added that there is also a lot of interest from Filipinos who run wealth funds abroad to join the MIC. (ABS-CBN News)
