'You'll have to talk to the UK staff': can global water investors be held to account?

Will Malaysia's YTL, US-based BlackRock and Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings answer questions about environmental damage?Revealed: more than 70% of English water industry is in foreign ownershipEngland's water: the world's piggy bankEngland's water: is privatised model a fair system?England's water firms respond to investigation into role of global investorsMost Malaysians know the YTL Corporation. Take the high-speed train from Kuala Lumpur International airport to the centre of the capital - YTL built it. Make a phone call in the country and it could be on YTL's network. Its subsidiaries run luxury resorts, develop land, and manufacture cement. But tell them it supplies water to south-west England and that may surprise some in the south-east Asian nation.In 2002, the bust US energy trader Enron sold 100% of Wessex Water to YTL Power International, a YTL Corp subsidiary, for about ?545m plus ?695m of Wessex debt. The Malaysian company saw its investment as the start of an expansion into Europe, although for its chair, Francis Yeoh, it was something more. Continue reading...