Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. trimmed it holdings in embattled Manila Water Co. to 4.78 percent from 6.62 percent, citing the uncertainty over the utility’s concession deal with the government.
MUTB as a result has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the common shares of Manila Water, the water utility said Friday in a regulatory filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Manila Water said MUTB through units First Sentiler Investors (Australia) IM Ltd., First State Investments (Hong Kong) Ltd., First Investments (Singapore), First Investments International Ltd. and First Sentiler Investors (Austriala) RE Ltd. collectively sold 98.799 million Manila Water shares from November 8, 2019 to December 18, 2019.
The five MUTB subsidiaries sold their shares at between P5.73 and P19.22 apiece
MUTB is the trust banking arm of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, a Japanese financial services group that is the largest in the world in terms of assets.
The stock price of Manila Water plummeted to a 52-week low of P5.01 per share on December 17 from a 52-week high of P27.85.
Share price of Manila Water started to decline in October after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to take over the water operations from the two water concessionaires if another water crisis erupted.
Some 1.2 million customers of Manila Water in March experienced water interruptions due to the decreasing water levels at the La Mesa reservoir in Quezon City.
With the water level in Angat Dam remaining below the normal operating volume of 212 meters at the start of the year, water supply interruptions in Metro Manila are expected to continue until the rainy season.
Manila Water and Maynilad Water Services Inc. earlier said they would no longer collect or enforce the recent arbitral awards to appease President Duterte. They also expressed willingness to renegotiate the alleged inequitable provisions of the concession agreement.
But on Thursday, President Duterte said he would pursue the filing of charges against the owners of the water concessionaires on alleged “onerous” concession contracts with the government.
Manila Water is owned by conglomerate Ayala Corp. while Maynilad is majority-held by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. of Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim.
Earlier, the two private concessionaires said it might face bankruptcy if the government would pursue the cancellation of the extension of their concession agreements.
Consumers will also deal with water shortages in the future with the suspension of the water firms’ capital expenditure program, according to Maynilad vice chairman Isidro Consunji.
Consunji expressed grave concern over the possible impact of the government’s plan against Maynilad, which holds the concession for the west zone and Manila Water, which manages the east zone.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System earlier said it revoked the resolution extending by 15 years the 25-year concession agreements of Manila Water and Maynilad, which were originally signed in 1997 during the term of former President Fidel Ramos.
