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What's New Read what the Chairman has to say about the company’s progress to date. Stock Information Organization Investor Resources Disclosures Investor Contacts Understanding Manila Water
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Chairman's Message Dear Fellow Stockholders, The destructive impact of climate change was clearly demonstrated by the severe typhoons which hit the Philippines last September 2009. Most of those affected by these storms were our customers in the East Zone concession area in Metro Manila. These natural calamities awakened all of us to alarming social and environmental realities that are simply too serious to ignore. They beg us to address the realities of poverty and environmental preservation. These are key imperatives today, particularly in the business sector, as we seek to ensure our society’s long-term survival and the sustainable growth of our country. Since we began operations more than 12 years ago, we made it a critical part of our business model to address the needs of all customers across all economic sectors, particularly the low-income groups. Addressing the needs of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid was key to the success and viability of the Company, especially in its efforts to minimize water system losses. Since then, Manila Water has provided affordable water services to more than 1.6 million residents from the most marginalized communities of Metro Manila. The availability of clean, potable water resulted in drastic improvements in the health and quality of life of our customers. This in turn allowed us to gain not only their support, but also of the regulators and various multilateral funding institutions. The philosophy of integrating our sustainable development goals with our business objectives has, over time, become deeply ingrained in the way we do business. There is no doubt that Manila Water’s success in the past 12 years was underpinned by this dual mission of improving the lives of its customers and of protecting its natural environment. Inspired by this success, Manila Water is now embarking on an ambitious project to help clean up the three major rivers in Metro Manila. Your Board of Directors has approved a plan to invest around $1 billion over the next 10 years in various sewerage and sanitation projects that will eventually cover all the areas alongthe Pasig, Marikina and San Juan rivers. We are pleased that our principal, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), shares the same vision and supported our request for a renewal of our East Zone concession period up to year 2037. With this, we have effectively laid a solid foundation that will sustain our growth trajectory for many more years. Within our East Zone operations, the longer concession period will allow us to implement our aggressive expansion plans, which will add value for the Company in the coming years. We are also excited about the prospects in the water sector outside of our concession area, where there are opportunities for us to replicate our current success in the East Zone. Throughout our organization, we place significant value in maintaining the highest standards of governance to safeguard the interests of all our stakeholders. Last year, we appointed a Chief Risk Officer who will oversee a stringent risk management program. We also continually make efforts to improve our processesat the Board level to be more proactive in charting the strategic directions of your Company. I thank all our members of our Board for being very supportive in all of these initiatives. In particular I wish to recognize the contributions of the late Alberto L. Jugo. His contributions and his valuable insights as part of the management team of Manila Water during its early years and as a member of the Board the past six years have been of great value to the Company. While economic recovery will be gradual, we are optimistic that there continue to be great opportunities for Manila Water. As we pursue these growth-oriented opportunities, we will remain focused on our commitment to deliver returns and value for all our stakeholders and continue to contribute to the sustainable growthand development of our society and our environment. FERNANDO ZOBEL DE AYALA Chairman
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