The Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) and Dubai Ports unit DP World from United Arab Emirates are exploring a partnership in developing logistics facilities across the Philippines.
MIC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DP World at the Philippine embassy in the UAE on how to further develop logistics facilities across the country.
“It’s all preliminary at this time,” MIC President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr. said on Tuesday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the “Doing Business with the Philippines” forum in Taguig City, Coansing added that both parties are keen on exploring the opportunities presented by the MOU.
MIC is conducting a study on the type of collaboration in logistics. The findings and recommendations will be released before the end of the year.
“There is more collaboration and an opportunity for us to study and see how we can make the movement of goods and people across the nation more efficient. We are very keen to see where the opportunities are because we are, after all, an archipelago, and we think that one way we can reduce the cost of goods is by investing in logistics,” Consing said.
MIC is also exploring the healthcare sector as an investment area with other potential partners, but he declined to elaborate.
Early this year, MIC signed an MOU with Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group Co. Ltd. to accelerate investment in agriculture and food production, digital innovation and sustainable energy in the Philippines.
Dubai World is an investment company that manages and supervises a portfolio of businesses and projects for the government of Dubai across a wide range of industry segments.
Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) is currently DP World’s local partner in the Philippines. It operates Manila South Harbor, the Integrated Batangas Port, Cavite Barge Terminal, and strategic inland logistics terminals, ATI said on its website.
On May 5, 2025, DP World and ATI invested about $100 million in projects that included extending Pier 3’s berth to more than 600 meters, expanding the yard to accommodate 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), as well as adding two new Ship-to-Shore cranes and purchasing eco-friendly landside equipment.
The company website says DP World operates ports and terminals, logistics, economic zones and marine services in 79 countries.
MIC, created under Republic Act (RA) No. 11954, or the Maharlika Fund Act, serves as the primary vehicle for utilizing the Philippines’ sovereign wealth fund. Its seed capital comes from state banks and government corporations.
