Sovereign wealth funds eye PH mining

As sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) abroad also eye the Philippines' mining sector, Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) is stepping up to serve as a vehicle for co-investments.

- BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

MIC President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rafael D. Consing Jr. told Manila Bulletin last May 8 that an SWF "near Asia" is keenly looking into the country's extractive space.

"We could serve as their vehicle" for a mining co-investment, Consing said.

The MIC, which manages the Philippines' first SWF, could also be a platform to consolidate a pipeline of all viable mining developments in the country, which may likewise be offered to other SWFs and other interested parties for co-investments, he added.

The MIC chief sees mining as potentially emerging as the Philippine economy's fifth pillar, after semiconductor and electronics exports, overseas Filipino workers' (OFWs) remittances, business process outsourcing (BPO), and tourism.

But he noted that despite the Philippines claiming to be the fifth most mineralized country in the world, the mining sector only contributed a "disproportionate" less than one percent to gross domestic product (GDP).