MANILA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has made a strong pitch for investment opportunities in the Philippines' Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) before top business leaders in Saudi Arabia, the Philippines' Department of Finance said on Friday.

Diokno told a roundtable discussion with the Saudi business leaders Thursday that the MIF was designed to catalyze economic development and accelerate the Philippines' growth by optimizing government financial assets and promoting their intergenerational management.

He said investments in the MIF will be used to fast-track the implementation of the Philippines' 197 high-impact infrastructure flagship projects worth around 153 billion U.S. dollars.

"The Fund also presents exciting opportunities for green and blue investments, environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-linked fixed-income instruments, and cutting-edge technologies with the advent of artificial intelligence and cloud computing," Diokno told the business leaders.

He said that governing the Fund is the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), which has an authorized capital stock of around 8.9 billion dollars -- 6.6 billion dollars are common shares for subscription of the national government and its instrumentalities, while the remaining 2.2 billion dollars are preferred shares open for subscription of the national government, as well as reputable private financial institutions and corporations.

Private and state-owned financial institutions can make direct investments in the MIF's sub-funds, which offer specific investment strategies.

"We look forward to your partnership and investment as we proceed with the full operationalization of the Fund by the end of 2023," Diokno added.

Diokno is among the officials accompanying Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos in Riyadh to participate in the inaugural summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council leaders.

In his departure speech on Thursday, Marcos said introducing the MIF is a vital aspect of his Saudi Arabia trip. the president also said his office has been in close consultation with Philippine economic managers in determining the improvements that can be made to the MIF's implementing rules and regulations.