Manila Water off-loads P1.1-B stake in Thai utility
Manila Water Company Inc. (MWC) has unloaded its entire stake in a Thailand-based water firm for P1.1 billion.
In a disclosure on Friday, the Razon-led group said its unit, Manila Water (Thailand) Co. Ltd. sold all its 311.44 million ordinary shares in Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Co. Ltd. to investor Bhavin Kunaderekwong.
The shares represent an 18.72-percent stake in East Water, a publicly listed water supply and distribution firm in Thailand.
The move came seven years after Manila Water decided to invest in East Water, which also marked the Philippine firm’s entry into Thailand.
The Thai utility group’s core business is raw water distribution, but it also has operations in tap water and waterworks management.
Manila Water said exiting the firm was “consistent with MWC’s core strategy, which prioritizes operational control and long-term value creation.”
“Divesting this noncore holding enables MWC to reallocate capital and management bandwidth towards other strategic assets and initiatives,” it added.
Concession
Manila Water serves the East Zone service area of Metro Manila and adjacent provinces. This covers parts of Marikina, Pasig, Makati, Taguig, Pateros, Mandaluyong, San Juan, portions of Quezon City and Manila, and several towns in Rizal province.
Outside this concession, Manila Water has businesses through respective subsidiaries in Laguna, Clark, Boracay and Estate Water.
In the first six months of 2025, Manila Water recorded a 15 percent growth in profit for the first half on the back of a higher tariff rate.
The company said in a previous filing that its net income still grew to P7.95 billion from P6.91 billion. This, despite the drop in volume billed in its service area.
Its revenues in the period also booked a 9-percent increase to P20 billion.
Capital spending during the January to June period reached P11 billion. The bulk of this amount was invested in boosting its infrastructure for the east zone network.
