Maharlika CEO Consing on way out

MANILA, Philippines —  Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) president and CEO Rafael Consing Jr. is expected to step down as his three-year term ends, with health concerns also factoring into his decision to leave the country’s sovereign wealth fund manager.

A source privy to the matter confirmed to The STAR over the weekend that Consing had informed MIC employees of his impending departure weeks ago during an internal town hall meeting.

Health was among the factors behind Consing’s decision, the source said.

Consing disclosed during a congressional briefing in April that he was recovering from a kidney transplant.

The source said recovering while under constant pressure could be difficult. 

Consing’s successor has yet to be announced, with the controversial wealth fund manager set for a change in leadership as public scrutiny continues.

The power to appoint the MIC chief rests with President Marcos.

In November 2023, Consing was appointed MIC president and CEO after serving for 11 months as executive director at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs. 

The veteran banker steered the MIC through its early years as it worked to deploy its capital and build an investment portfolio. 

The fund took more than a year to make its maiden investment as it built its organizational structure and conducted due diligence on potential deals. 

The MIC’s first major investment was its acquisition of a stake in the country’s sole transmission operator, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, through Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc.

Nearly two years after the binding offer was signed, however, the deal has yet to be completed.

Maharlika also acquired additional shares of port operator Asian Terminals Inc.

It also extended a P15-billion working capital facility to Petron Corp. to finance crude oil and refined petroleum imports and other operational requirements.

These investments helped accelerate the MIC’s capital deployment, with the corporation investing P18.8 billion in key industries during the first half. This brought its cumulative deployed capital to P24.7 billion as of end-June.

The MIC posted P2.69 billion in total comprehensive income from January to June, consisting of P1.24 billion in net income and P1.45 billion in other comprehensive income.

Its investments generated P2.09 billion in total portfolio returns during the period through dividends, loan interest, realized gains and appreciation in equity holdings.