Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr. said that the state-run agency is facing issues with meeting the requirements of the Governance Commission for government-owned and controlled corporations (GCG).
During a recent Senate hearing, Consing said the regulatory body responsible for overseeing state-owned enterprises’s support to MIC is constrained by the current rules. He elaborated that the GCG has just released detailed guidelines tailored for new entities like MIC.
“We basically follow all the rules in terms of setting up the organization, et al., [but] if you look at the rules, ma’am, the reality is that they’re really not prepared to accept or assist startup institutions,” Consing said.
“If you look at the regulations today, the nearest that it would be for startup institutions is for reorganization. So they’ve got rules for reorganization, but they have no rules for startups,” Consing added.
Despite the challenges, the MIC chief announced that the organization plans to make its initial investments in the energy sector within the next 60 to 90 days.
Currently, MIC has eight memoranda of agreements and is conducting due diligence on two significant investments, according to Consing.
Energy is a key focus for the sovereign wealth fund, which is anticipated to direct a considerable portion of its early investments toward this sector.
Maharlika aims to raise $1 billion to invest in renewable and alternative energy sources to diversify the power mix and stabilize energy prices.
Previous reports indicated that MIC has been facing challenges with its organization as the high salary demands have led to delays in finalizing the sovereign wealth fund’s structure.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto noted earlier this month that the private sector representatives on the board have not received any compensation since their appointment last year.
Consing mentioned that MIC currently employs only nine people, including its executives and board members.
In 2023, the MIC reported retained earnings of approximately P144 million after initiating investments in November, with an additional P1.4 billion accrued this year.
The MIC has an authorized capital stock of P500 billion, with an initial capital of P125 billion. This initial capital comes from contributions by the Land Bank of the Philippines (P50 billion), the Development Bank of the Philippines (P25 billion), and the National Government (P50 billion). (TCSP)
