As he concluded his five-day official working visit to Tokyo, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said three Japanese financial institutions had expressed interest in the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
In an interview with the media onboard Philippine Airlines Flight PR001, the President said the three firms were a mixture of private and public financial institutions.
He, however, refused to identify the organizations that pledged to back the country's proposed sovereign wealth fund.
"We have some commitments, but I don't think it's appropriate for me to name who they are," Marcos said Sunday, Feb. 12.
"But they have – there were already three commitments, substantial amounts that they are willing to invest in the fund. So we can begin there," he added.
The MIF is seen to bolster economic activity and provide funding for critical infrastructure projects in the country. The government first introduced it to the world stage during the President's attendance at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, last month.
Based on House Bill (HB) No. 6608, the proposed sovereign wealth fund would adhere to good governance, transparency, and accountability principles. It shall be sourced from the investible funds of select government financial institutions (GFIs), national government contributions, declared dividends of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and other sources of funds.
The fund shall be used to invest on a strategic and commercial basis in a manner designed to promote fiscal stability for economic development and strengthen the top-performing GFIs through additional investment platforms that will help attain the national government's priority agenda.
More investments
Meanwhile, the President expressed confidence that more deals would come to the Philippines following his working trip to Japan, which he described as something that went beyond expectations.
"That's why we keep on doing this... the Japanese have been very forward-looking, in a sense na meron talaga silang mga pinaplano (they have plans) that are very new, taking advantage the new technologies," he said.
Marcos said he was looking forward to bolstering partnerships with Japan regarding climate change mitigation and adaptation, which is a vital part of his administration's priority agenda.
“Yung kanilang mga initiatives sa climate change are very, very well-advanced. Kaya't yun sa palagay ko, marami tayong magagawa in that area (Their climate change initiatives are very well-advanced. I think we can do much in that area)," he pointed out.
The five-day visit has, so far, resulted in seven bilateral agreements and 35 investment deals amounting to USD 13 billion or Php 708.2 billion, estimated to generate around 24,000 jobs for Filipinos.
"All of the projects that were on the pipeline, I think we were able to finalize all of them. That's a good result, I think, from this trip," the President said.
When asked when the investments will start rolling, Marcos said: "Some of them have already begun. Kasi marami diyan nag-shutdown ng operation (Many of down had shut down operations) they will return but with a promise na yung kanilang dating plano i-e-expand nila (they would expand their old plans)."