IntroductionThe past decade has seen the growth of a new phenomenon – the international water company. With the increasing privatisation of water services, either through the outright acquisition of water related infrastructure or through concession contracts, several companies have been engaged in aggressive growth programmes aimed at ensuring increasing global market share and increased shareholder profits derived from the business of providing water services. This section of The Water Page provides an overview of the current status of international water companies and gives an insight into some of the current debates related to privatisation, regulation, the urban/rural divide and globalisation.The phenomenon of the international water company is not welcomed by all. There are those who are very strong and powerful proponents of the involvement of the private sector, who advocate deregulation and the opening of markets, and there are those who regard the phenomenon with grave concerns as opening vast numbers of people to further exploitation. Different opinions are given expressed in the section.Facts and figures Seven sets of information are provided below. They are provided to give a “snap shot” of the current situation. All of the information has been derived from official documents (latest Annual Reports etc.), most of which have been accessed via the Internet. The information is provided in graphic of table form and includes the following:The geographical location of where companies are operating around the worldThe proportion of water & sanitation services which are privatized and the value of the privatized marketInternational investment in water and sanitationThe number of people served with water supply and sanitation by different companiesIncome, Profit & Size of Major International Water CompaniesTurnover of international water operationsMajor International Water Companies & Their Foreign SubsidiariesInternational Water Companies on the ContinentsEuropeAsiaMid-East & North AfricaLatin AmericaNorth AmericaAustraliaSub-Saharan AfricaThames WaterAWGONDEOONDEOVivendiONDEOThames WaterONDEOONDEOVivendiAmerican WaterAzurixVivendiVivendiVivendiVivendiSAURVivendiUnited Water.ONDEOAGBARThames Water.AGBARONDEO.SAURSAUR..SAURAquarion…..AWGAmerican Water..Region% Privatized, 1997% Privatized, 2010Western Europe*203510Central & East Europe4204North America5159Latin America4609Africa3333Asia12010Parent CompanyPrinciple wholly owned subsidiariesEmployeesVivendi.48,4302,883290,000.Vivendi Environment (was Generale des Eaux)24,6451,763215,000.Water division11,904N/A67,000SUEZ.31,6203,522173,200.ONDEO (was Lyonnaise Des Eaux)8,4631,95317,670RWE.43,7002,418172,000.Thames Water (includes subsidiaries)3,9981,35823,000Bouyges.17,7251,370120,000.SAUR2,23110823,000AWG.1,81045010,022.Anglian Water1,0804397000Kelda.1,001335N/A.Yorkshire Water7973153000Parent CompanyVivendi(France)Suez(France)RWE(Germany)Bouyges(France)Kelda(UK)Water DivisionVivendi EnvironmentONDEOThames WaterSAURYorkshire WaterSubsidiariesUS Filter (USA)AGBAR (ESP)American Water (USA)Aquatech (CAN)Alcontrol BV (NLD)Aqua Alliance (USA)Northumbrian Water (UK)Azurix (USA)Dynamco (UK)Aquarion (USA)PSG (USA)United Water (USA)Wessex Water (UK)Emalsa (ESP)Canadian Clean Water (CAN)Aguas de Aconquija (ARG)Aguas de Limeira (BRA)Bovis Thames (CHN)Guestagua (ESP)Henrici Melieulaboratoriu (NLD)Aguas de Jaen (ESP)Aguas Decima (CHL)FB Leopold (USA)Rossa (RUS)Alcontrol GmbH (DEU)Aguas del Sauce (URY)Aguas Provinciales de Santa Fe (ARG)Hydro-Aerobics (USA)Sigesa (ITA)Folkestone & Dover Water (UK)Aqua Toscana (ITL)Kelantan (MYS)Senegalaise de Eaux (SEN)Ibersade (ESP)Aquasystems (SVN)Sodeci (CIV)MSG (GMB)Calgon (USA)Oewa (DEU)Essex & Suffolk (UK)OK Wasser (DEU)Eurawasser (DEU)OMSA (MEX)GGA (ESP)SEEG (GAB)JMM-OSI (USA)Servitec (HUN)Lde (ISR)United Water (AUS)Lydec (MAR)Palya (IDN)Sino-French Water (CHN)Country CodesARG: ArgentinaDEU: GermanyITA: ItalyMYS: MalaysiaUK: United KingdomBRA: BrazilESP: SpainISR: IsraelMAR: MoroccoUSA: United StatesCAN: CanadaGMB: GambiaIDN: IndonesiaRUS: RussiaURY: UruguayCIV: Ivory CoastHUN: HungaryMEX: MexicoSVN: Slovenia
