Implications of the market and regulatory environment in China on multinational water companies

Abstract

Amidst China's rapid industrialization and urbanization following market-oriented reforms in its economy, the shortcomings of the state-controlled municipal water sector was brought to the fore. The Chinese government realized the critical role water played in fuelling China's continued economic growth, and implemented a series of water policy reforms in the 1990s which opened up Chinese municipal water services to multinational water companies. In this paper, we track the development of the Chinese municipal water sector to understand how regulatory changes and the market environment has affected the way foreign multinational water companies operate in China. In particular, we analyze the activities of Veolia Water and Suez Environment, seeing how the liberalized regulations governing public-private partnerships, along with water tariff reforms, presented large growth opportunities for both companies. We also see how the same liberalizations intensified competition for projects, necessitating a shift in strategic focus of the foreign multinational water companies. Finally, the paper offers recommendations on how foreign multinational companies can sustain growth opportunities aligned with the development of highly regulated markets.