Maharlika readies appointments to NGCP board

State-run Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) has identified potential candidates for appointment to the board of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), according to a top executive.

- BRIX LELIS

Asked by The STAR if MIC had candidates in mind to fill the two NGCP board seats allocated to the government, MIC president and CEO Rafael Consing Jr. said, "Yes, we do."

"MIC has 90 days from the signing of the binding term sheet to close the investment," Consing said, noting that the appointees will be announced "in due course."

MIC has secured a foothold in the country's power grid after tycoons Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr. agreed to sell 20 percent of Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. (SGP), the listed company behind NGCP.

The deal, subject to closing conditions, grants the country's sovereign wealth fund manager four board seats — two each in SGP and NGCP.

A source privy to the matter told The STAR that one of the appointees to the NGCP board is a University of the Philippines graduate who previously worked in the government.

The identity of the appointee has been kept under wraps, pending the completion of the deal, the source said.