Sovereign wealth fund Maharlika Investment Corporation is extending a 15 billion peso ($240 million) credit line to Petron Corporation, marking a state-backed financing push into the Philippines’ downstream oil sector as the country seeks to build resilience against fuel supply shocks.
Maharlika said the facility will give Petron additional liquidity to fund fuel procurement and expand its crude inventory, as volatility in global oil markets raises working capital needs for fuel suppliers.
MIC said in a statement on Thursday (May 14) that the facility will be priced at prevailing interest rates, indicating that the credit line is being extended on market-based terms.
“The price of oil has risen to the point where distribution companies must double their working capital just to buy the same amount of fuel,” Maharlika president and CEO Rafael Consing Jr. said in the statement.
The transaction gives Maharlika exposure to a critical part of the Philippines’ energy supply chain, while allowing the fund to generate risk-adjusted returns from a sector tied closely to national economic resilience.
The facility comes as the Philippines remains among the countries most exposed to the global fuel shock triggered by the Iran war. The country declared a national energy emergency in March, while gasoline prices have climbed by about 65% from pre-war levels. The country imports 98% of its oil.
Petron was once under state control after the Philippine government, through the Philippine National Oil Company, acquired Esso Philippines in 1973. The company was later privatised in stages, beginning in the 1990s, before the current owner, local conglomerate San Miguel Corporation, eventually took majority control.
Maharlika said the credit facility is aligned with its mandate to promote national development through strategic investments in key sectors.
The deal comes as the sovereign wealth fund continues to position itself as a capital provider for industries seen as essential to the country’s long-term economic stability.
