Presenting the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) to Saudi Arabia's business leaders was President Marcos' first order of business upon arriving in Riyadh.

During a roundtable meeting organized by the ministries of trade and investments of both Saudi Arabia and the Philippines on Thursday, Oct. 19, Marcos presented, as planned, the MIF in a bid to attract business leaders from the Gulf country.

He emphasized that the Philippines was open to learn from them in terms of managing the controversial fund, which was he had earlier ordered to be put on hold pending further study .

"At the forefront of these opportunities is the recently launched Maharlika Investment Fund, the Philippines' first-ever sovereign investment fund designed to drive long-term economic development through increased investments in high-impact sectors," Marcos said.

"We look forward to benefiting, not just from Saudi investments, but also from the Kingdom's experience in managing such funds," Marcos added.

The President underscored that the MIF was among the steps and reforms the Philippine government has undertaken in order to attract more foreign investors.

"The Philippines has initiated important legislative amendments to existing laws to further open the economy to foreign investors," he said.

He cited other legislative amendments such as the Foreign Investments Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Public Services Act, and the Renewable Energy Act.

All of which, he added, were aimed at attracting more foreign investments in important sectors such as telecommunications, post operations, transportation, and clean energy.

He also mentioned that foreign investors are now able to enjoy fiscal incentives made available through the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, urging them to further engage with his economic team to learn more about the benefits.

Before flying to Riyadh on Thursday morning, Marcos ordered the suspension of the implementation of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Maharlika Investment Fund.

He clarified, however, that it was still on, and will be operationalized before the year ends.

The suspension, he said, was only made to find ways to "make it as close to perfect and ideal as possible," specifically on the organizational structure of the Fund.

He pointed out that the concept of the Fund remains "a good one" and the suspension of the implementation of the IRR should not be misinterpreted as a judgment of the "rightness or wrongness of the Maharlika fund."

Marcos is in Riyadh to participate in the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) until Oct. 21.

READ MORE: Maharlika Fund is still on—Marcos