Mitsui & Co. said Monday it has set up a joint water business venture with Singaporean water solutions firm Hyflux Ltd. to engage in China's growing water treatment and infrastructure business.
The 50-50 joint venture, Galaxy NewSpring Pte., based in Singapore, plans to acquire 22 water treatment, waste water treatment and water recycling plants in China for a total of about ¥20 billion, Mitsui said.
Hyflux directly owns four of the 22 plants, while Hyflux Water Trust, a business trust sponsored by Hyflux listed on the Singapore Exchange, owns the remaining 18. The plants are scattered over eight provinces, including Hebei and Jiangsu, where industrialization and urbanization are rapidly developing.
"Galaxy intends to capture the fast-growing water infrastructure demand in China, and expand its water business with new customers such as local governments and industrial parks," Mitsui said in a statement.
Galaxy announced Monday it plans to buy the units of Hyflux Water Trust to acquire the 18 plants' assets on the assumption the trust will be delisted from the Singapore bourse, according to the statement.
The combined water treatment capacity of the 22 plants will come to 745,000 cu. meters per day upon completion of the acquisition, it said.
According to Global Water Intelligence, China is expected to double spending on environmental protection and water resource development to $450 billion from 2011 to 2015.