SHANGRI-LA Mactan, Cebu—Manila Water Co., the Ayala Group’s listed water utility arm, will create new subsidiaries handle businesses in Hongkong and Vietnam should it succeed in its bid to operate the water systems abroad.

At the sidelines of the 2nd Annual Philippines Investment Conference organized by Euromoney, Manila Water chief finance officer Sherisa Nuesa said once the subsidiaries are in place, they will be used as vehicles to invite potential joint venture partners and equity investors.

“[Manila Water] will still be the controlling, but the strategy is to find partners based in Hong Kong and [in] Vietnam. While the opportunities are there, the environment will still be new to us so this is where we really need to find a partner.” Nuesa said.

After prequalifying for a water project in Hongkong, Manila Water has also successfully prequalified in Vietnam for a nonrevenue water project in Ho Chi Minh City that is under the operations and management contract without billing. The project is being bidded out by the Vietnam government-owned SAWACO, which services 20 percent of Ho Chi Minh City.

Manila Water also earlier prequalified for a design, build and operate project for sewerage treatment works on Lamma Island, Hong Kong. For the project, Manila Water has teamed up with Jardine Engineering Corp. of Singapore, Fujita of Japan and Sun Fook Kong Group of Hong Kong.

“It will involve a 10-year contract, extendable [up to] five years, with the Drainage Services Department of the Hong Kong government. Two wastewater treatment plants are proposed to be built for the project, with a total capacity of more than 4 million liters per day,” Manila Water said in an earlier disclosure to the PSE.

Awarding of the contract for both the Hongkong and Vietnam water projects will be announced before the end of the year.

Manila Water last week completed a €60-million guaranteed 10-year term loan with the European Investment Bank.

The loan, arranged by ING Bank with the Development Bank of Singapore and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking  Corp., will help fund its P30-billon capital expenditure program in the next five years.

Manila Water intends to finance its five-year capex through a combination of cash and borrowings. The loan component will not only be supported by the European Bank borrowings but also the over $300 million available facility that it secured last year.

SHANGRI-LA Mactan, Cebu—Manila Water Co., the Ayala Group’s listed water utility arm, will create new subsidiaries handle businesses in Hongkong and Vietnam should it succeed in its bid to operate the water systems abroad.

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