ZURICH, Switzerland — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he was looking forward to sharing with his fellow leaders at the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) what the government is doing for the Philippines, particularly the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF).
Marcos said this as he is set to participate in the 2023 WEF in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 16 to 20, 2023.
In an interview with reporters on board the presidential plane en route to Europe, the President said the WEF would follow a format similar to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in November last year, where the audience could ask the speaker questions.
“Kasi kung titingnan mo yung prepared speeches maliliit lang, five minutes lang, eh (If you look at the prepared speeches, they’re very short. They’re roughly five minutes long),” he said.
“I think that kind of format (question-and-answer) will give us a better opportunity to expand and expound on the things we’re doing in the Philippines,” he added.
Another thing President Marcos is “excited” about is the pull-aside meetings with fellow leaders, noting that most of the best deals are formed during these kinds of short meetings.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had said Marcos would be doing many pull-aside meetings given the packed schedule at the WEF.
“Sometimes the best deals are done outside of the forum— many. Most of the best deals are done informally,” he said.
“There are certain businessmen that our own business groups want to engage. Siguro, magpapatulong sila sa atin (Perhaps they will ask for our help). And I think that’s where — besides the fora— a lot of work will be done, on the sidelines,” he added.
Maharlika Wealth Fund
Meanwhile, President Marcos confirmed that he would bring up the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund at the WEF, noting that talking about such a topic is not new in events such as the World Economic Forum.
“Pare-prareho naman yung ginagawa natin dito sa mga trips (We’re doing the same thing every trip). We talk about the Philippines, what the situation is as an investment destination. Now, added to that, meron na tayong pwedeng pag-usapan na (we’ll be talking about a) sovereign wealth fund,” he said.
“Sasabihin ko (I will tell them) exactly what’s happened— that we are forming a sovereign wealth fund for big investments for the basic areas such as agriculture, energy, digitalization, and climate change.
The DFA had said that Marcos would be soft-launching the MWF at the WEF but would only highlight broad strokes since the proposed sovereign wealth fund is still being deliberated in Congress.
The MWF is a sovereign wealth fund that the government will use to invest in various outlets, such as foreign currencies, fixed-income instruments, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, commercial real estate, and infrastructure projects.