Maharlika earns 25% peso return as it exits Makilala Mining bridge loan
State-run Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which manages the country’s first sovereign wealth fund (SWF), has exited its bridge loan investment in Makilala Mining Co. Inc. (MMCI), generating an estimated 25-percent annualized return in peso terms while paving the way for additional foreign investment in the mining project.
In a statement last Friday, June 5, MIC said it completed the assignment of its rights, title, and interests under its omnibus loan and security agreement (OLSA) with MMCI to Equinaire Holdings Ltd. (Equinaire), a wholly owned subsidiary of India-based Kiri Industries Ltd. (KIL).
The transaction marks MIC’s full exit from the bridge loan investment after all conditions under the assignment agreement were satisfied.
According to MIC, the assignment generated a net annualized return of 12.5 percent in United States (US) dollar terms. In peso terms, the divestment translated into an estimated net annualized return of about 25 percent, reflecting gains from both the investment and foreign-exchange movements.
MIC said the realized gain would provide fresh capital that could be redeployed into new strategic investments aligned with its mandate of generating returns while supporting long-term economic development.
The SWF manager added that the transaction also brings KIL, through Equinaire, into the financing structure of the Makilala mining project.
KIL is an international industrial group that has expressed interest in strategic investments and critical minerals, according to MIC.
MIC said the transaction reflects continued foreign investor confidence in the Philippine mining sector and demonstrates its ability to attract private capital into strategically important industries.
“By attracting strategic global capital, this divestment has created immediate capacity for future investments,” MIC President and Chief Executive Officer (MIC) Rafael Jose D. Consing Jr. said.
“The outcome reflects the disciplined investment approach that MIC seeks to bring to its portfolio in furtherance of its mandate of generating sustainable returns while supporting national economic development,” Consing added.
MIC said the successful exit highlights its role in mobilizing private-sector funding and positioning the Philippines as an attractive destination for long-term investments in priority industries.
The transaction also forms part of MIC’s broader strategy of actively managing investments, recycling capital, and pursuing opportunities that generate commercial returns while contributing to economic growth and job creation.