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Thames Water to get Chinese investment
CHANCELLOR George Osborne’s visit to China appears to have paid dividends for UK companies, as sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation looks to buy a stake in Thames Water.
CIC is understood to be poised to snap up a 10 per cent stake in Kemble Water, the holding company that owns the utility. Macquarie Bank will retain its 40 per cent holding if and when the sale goes through.
Osborne embarked on a tour of China last week that saw London earmarked for a new centre for trading the renminbi.
Thames Water will by no means be the first UK utility to receive cash from Asia – Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, bought Northumbrian Water last summer for £4.7bn.