Manila Water Sets Eyes on International Expansion, Keen on SEA and Middle East

Water services company Manila Water Co. Inc. is eyeing international expansion, but it has also expressed that it will start by focusing on widening its presence in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. “The plan is really to consolidate and grow and expand within this territory that we know very closely and it’s very close to our home,” explained Manila Water president and CEO Jose Victor Emmanuel de Dios, who affirmed that the company has been reaching “far and wide” to get a hold of more opportunities beyond its current markets.

The port operations business of tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. — who also holds a controlling interest in Manila Water — would play a key role in fuelling the company’s expansion, according to de Dios. “I suppose we are able to do this because the scope, reach and breadth of the port business of the Razon Group enable us to generate very keen insights about the markets that we wish to enter, and obviously, with boots on the ground so to speak, we are able to generate a lot of feedback immediately about regulatory environment, opportunities, low-hanging fruit, and even potential partners.”

Within the country, Manila Water remains the sole provider of water services to the east zone of Metro Manila — covering parts of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, Quezon City, portions of Manila, and some towns in Rizal. Through its subsidiary Manila Water Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., the company has already established a presence in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Manila Water has likewise secured two water contracts — with consortium partners Saur Group and Miahona Co. — to be able to conduct business in Saudi Arabia. “The idea is to grow that [Saudi Arabia business] quickly and rapidly and hopefully win the concession in either or both of those areas,” de Dios added.

Just like most businesses, the company also suffered from the challenges brought by the global pandemic. “[Commercial] business and operations for customers declined significantly because of the lockdowns. That accounts for a lot, [that’s] a significant portion of our billed volume numbers, and a lot of that transferred to the domestic side of the business. [As] 2021 dawned upon us, we felt the full force of the pandemic,” elaborated de Dios.

However, Manila Water hopes to see water demand rebound in the country as restrictions continue to ease. “Hopefully we’re moving in the right path to generating numbers that will again bring us back to pre-pandemic levels. We will see healthy growth in our billed volume numbers,” he concluded.

Source: Inquirer