Deal to ‘safeguard power supply from external threats, disruptions’ — MIC
Philippine sovereign wealth fund Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) yesterday acquired a 20 percent stake in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) held by the Synergy Grid and Development Philippines Inc. (SGP).
Led by Maharlika President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr., the fund and the SGP, led by Chairman Henry T. Sy Jr., signed a binding term sheet in Malacañang yesterday afternoon in the presence of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Under the agreement, MIC will subscribe to preferred shares offered by SGP, which currently holds a 40.2 percent effective ownership interest in the company that operates the electricity grid across the country.
The agreement grants MIC two board seats at each of SGP and NGCP.
“Congratulations, everyone. I know it wasn’t easy. I think, in the end, we found a good solution to everyone’s concern,” President Marcos said after the document was signed.
The ownership structure of NGCP has also been a subject of security concern because it is 40 percent owned by the State Grid Corporation of China. Lawmakers have expressed fears that Beijing could use the NGCP for sabotage in case of a conflict over the disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea, according to a report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in Feb. 2024.
“NGCP said this is not a concern because ‘only Filipinos are manning the (NGCP) substations.’ The remaining 60 percent stake is split between businessmen Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.,” PIDS added.
MIC’s Consing said, “Once the acquisition is completed, we shall be entitled to two out of nine seats in the SGP board, after the total seats are increased from seven to nine. At NGCP, the government gains representation through two out of 15 board seats, following an increase in the total seats from 10 to 15.”
He said the flagship investment of MIC would safeguard the nation’s power supply from external threats and disruptions and enable the government to have a say in NGCP decisions.
The Presidential Communications Office said the maiden investment of MIC represents a vital opportunity for the government to regain greater influence over the nation’s critical power infrastructure to ensure that every Filipino has access to reliable and affordable power.
Since January 2009, NGCP has exercised full authority over the management and operations of the nationwide transmission system, a critical public utility, under a franchise granted by the Philippine Congress.
In 2007, after public bidding, NGCP was granted a 25-year concession to operate the transmission system, with the possibility of renewal for another 25 years.
While NGCP operates the power grid, the Philippine government owns the transmission assets through the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo).
TransCo is a government agency created under Republic Act. No. 9136, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.