Arthur Fuentes

Article (news)

Maynilad

Raine Musñgi

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1762772164210maynilad.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner"></span></span></span></div><p style="text-align:left">Residents in Pasay City stock up on water from a mobile tanker after Maynilad announced that several areas in Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Manila will experience water service interruption last March 5. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/file</em></p><p>MANILA — Maynilad Water Services is rolling out an aggressive, long-term water security and expansion program following its market debut, after raising P34.3 billion in the country’s largest IPO since 2021. </p><p>The stock opened at P15 during its Nov. 7 listing, with strong backing from cornerstone investors including the IFC and Asian Development Bank (ADB), signaling continued appetite for defensive utilities despite a sluggish economic backdrop.</p><p>Company filings confirm that the IPO proceeds will bankroll Maynilad’s P163.3-billion capital expenditure roadmap under the 2023 to 2027 rate-rebasing cycle. The plan includes bolstering raw water supply, cutting massive leak-related losses, and expanding wastewater treatment as climate change intensifies pressure on Metro Manila’s water systems.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/11/7/marcos-maynilad-ipo-sign-of-confidence-in-ph-market-1219">Marcos: Maynilad IPO &#x27;sign of confidence&#x27; in PH market</a></div><p>Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez emphasized on ANC’s Market Edge that the company is pushing forward with “a practical, data-backed blueprint” to secure long-term water supply while modernizing infrastructure in the West Zone.</p><div><strong>WHY THE IPO MATTERS NOW</strong></div><p>The listing comes at a time when global markets remain volatile and Philippine growth is softening. Yet institutional support for the offering, anchored by development finance institutions, underscores confidence in Maynilad’s predictable cash flows and regulated returns.</p><p>“Maynilad is a solid investment,” Fernandez told ANC. The utility posted a 19 percent increase in first-half 2025 net income to P7.5 billion, reinforcing what analysts describe as a resilient business with visible dividend potential.</p><p>Fernandez also sought to downplay political risk, noting that Maynilad now operates under a revised concession agreement and a legislative franchise valid until 2047. Still, analysts caution that utilities remain particularly sensitive to regulatory shifts. </p><div><strong>THE POST-IPO GAMEPLAN: FOUR PILLARS OF WATER SECURITY</strong></div><p>Fernandez detailed how the P163.3-billion capex plan will be deployed across four pillars:</p><div><strong>1. Water Source Diversification</strong></div><p>Maynilad has reduced its historic over-dependence on Angat Dam from more than 90 percent to around 84 percent today, backed by expanded treatment capacity from Laguna Lake, including the newly upgraded Poblacion Plant.“We’ve brought down our dependency... from 90 plus to 84 percent today,” Fernandez said.</p><div><strong>2. Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Reduction</strong></div><p>Fernandez said Maynilad has saved 200 million liters per day in the past three years by fixing leaks — water equivalent to the capacity of a full-scale treatment plant.“In the last three years, we have saved 200 million liters per day just by reducing non-revenue water,” he noted.</p><p>Company disclosures show NRW at 36.2 percent in early 2025, with cumulative recovered volumes since 2006 exceeding 970 MLD. The long-term target is to drive NRW closer to international benchmarks of 20 percent.</p><div><strong>3. Wastewater Expansion</strong></div><p>When Maynilad took over the West Zone in 2006, sewerage coverage was only 6 percent. That figure stands at about 35 percent as of Q2 2025, supported by ADB and IFC financing.</p><p>The utility aims to reach 67 to 70 percent before the 2047 end of its concession, while also expanding services for commercial and industrial clients.</p><div><strong>4. Customer Engagement, Digitalization, and AI</strong></div><p>Maynilad plans aggressive investments in automation and customer-facing tools, including AI-driven systems for leak detection and network management.</p><div><strong>SERVICE AND EXPANSION BEYOND THE WEST ZONE</strong></div><p>Fernandez confirmed that Maynilad is exploring service expansion into Bulacan, Cavite, and newly developing Manila Bay reclamation cities, calling them potential growth areas for both water supply and wastewater services.</p><p>“There are two huge reclamation projects... we’re talking to them in delivering water and wastewater services,” he said.</p><p>The company is also targeting wastewater services for existing commercial clusters inside the West Zone — “low-hanging fruit,” according to Fernandez. </p><div><strong>DIVIDEND POLICY AND GOVERNANCE</strong></div><p>Investors will also benefit from a new dividend policy guaranteeing payouts of 50 percent of prior-year net income or 40 percent of adjusted net income, whichever is higher.</p><p>“The IPO brings a huge responsibility on transparency and accountability, and we bear this into heart,” Fernandez said.</p><p>He also argued that tariff stability reduces political risk, adding that water charges remain “a very minute portion of household spend” (19:35–19:54). </p><div><strong>CLIMATE REALITY AND URGENCY</strong></div><p>Fernandez tied the company’s long-term strategy directly to climate volatility.</p><p>“We’re better prepared, but the work is not over,” he said.</p><p>Climate change continues to strain water resources, from variable inflows at Angat to worsening salinity intrusion in Laguna Lake — making diversification, leak reduction, and wastewater expansion urgent pillars of Maynilad’s adaptation strategy. </p><div><strong>BOTTOM LINE</strong></div><p>Maynilad’s IPO marks a critical turning point for Metro Manila’s water system. The fresh capital and heightened public scrutiny place pressure on the utility to deliver on its commitments:</p><p style="line-height:1">• more reliable water supply,</p><p style="line-height:1">• aggressive leak reduction,</p><p style="line-height:1">• deeper wastewater coverage, and</p><p style="line-height:1">• climate-resilient infrastructure.</p><p>For investors, the attraction remains clear: stable cash flows, strong dividends, and exposure to an essential service — tempered by regulatory and political risks that will continue to shape the sector.</p><p>Catch the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDuPCR3dK7o&amp;t=124s"> full interview</a> with Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez on Market Edge, exclusively on the ABS-CBN News Channel.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KDuPCR3dK7o?&amp;t=124s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Maynilad Water Services is rolling out an aggressive, long-term water security and expansion program following its market debut, after raising P34.3 billion in the country’s largest IPO since 2021.</p>

Maynilad Water Services is rolling out an aggressive, long-term water security and expansion program following its market debut, after raising P34.3 billion in the country’s largest IPO since 2021.

Maynilad IPO ignites massive water security push, expansion, and leak-loss crackdown

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Maynilad IPO ignites massive water security push, expansion, and leak-loss crackdown

Raine Musñgi,

ABS-CBN News Channel

Published Nov 10, 2025 07:04 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 10, 2025 07:18 PM PHT

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Maynilad Water Services

IPO

Asian Development Bank

ADB

Water security

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