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March 19, 2008
Smart Money is Investing in Water
While in these tough economic times, investors are putting their money in assets like gold and oil, they are also are investing in water.
Investors are buying up assets that control water and improve supplies, especially in developing countries like China where urban populations are booming, leading to a further tightening of supply.
"Many of these cities have tripled in size in the last ten years so there's just an un-addressed need, there's an enormous opportunity for investment," said Kimberly Tara, chief executive of FourWinds Capital Management, a commodities investor.
The December report from Sustainable Asset Management, based in Zurich identified water shortages in regions including southern Spain, the Maghreb area of Northern Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan, southern India and northern China. In the Americas, the U.S. Midwest, Mexico and the Andes are among the worst-hit areas. Eastern Australia is also badly affected.
"Large equipment suppliers for obtaining water and treating waste will not operate in parts of the developing world", said Robert Miller-Bakewell, a Merrill Lynch analyst. "They're pretty selective about where they go," he said. "That means a lot of this need will not necessarily be addressed in the near-term."
"The technologies exist. You and I and the World Bank and everyone else can identify the need. The big problem all along is about who's going to pay for it all."
"Drought is our leading example of a problem to solve," said David Fischhoff, head of technology strategy and development at Monsanto, as reported by the International Herald Tribune.
Posted by Stephen Betheil at March 19, 2008 01:12 PM
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