Marubeni to buy 20% of Maynilad

TOKYO – Marubeni Corp. said yesterday it will acquire a 20-percent equity stake in Maynilad Water Services Inc., a major tap water and sewage water disposal company in the Philippines.

The Quezon City-based Maynilad is the world’s biggest private-sector water utility in terms of the size of a population in its service area, according to Marubeni.

Some 9.5 million, or 10 percent of the Philippines’ population, reside in its service area, the Japanese firm said.

Under a contract with the Philippine government, Maynilad provides running water and maintenance services for its aqueduct networks, as well as collecting fees.