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Second-Richest Person in the Philippines, Enrique Razon, Takes Over East Zone Concessionaire Manila Water Company

By Alyanna Silvestre
Published June 07, 2021

With plans to expand his investments in infrastructure projects, billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. takes over Manila Water from Ayala Corp.—the Philippines’ oldest conglomerate.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, Manila Water announced that Razon will be replacing Fernando Zobel de Ayala as chairman of the board of directors and as chairman and member of the executive committee, and Jose Rene Gregory Almendras as the company’s president and CEO, effective June 3.

Manila Water also announced that Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala has vacated his post as its vice chairman and director.

The change in the Board of Directors comes after the completion of Manila Water's subscription agreement with Trident Water Company Holdings, a subsidiary of Razon’s Prime Strategic Holdings. The deal involved the acquisition of the majority (51%) of the voting interest in the water concessionaire as part of Razon's ₱10.7-billion capital infusion. 

With this, Ayala Corp.’s direct and indirect economic interest in Manila Water is at 38.6% while its voting interest is at 31.6%, keeping its economic interest in the water concessionaire intact with Razon running operations.

Razon founded Bloomberry Resorts Corp. in 1999, which operates Solaire Resort and Casino. He is also the Chairman and President of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. The ports and gaming tycoon was ranked the second-richest person from the Philippines with an estimated net worth of $5 billion in Forbes magazine's 35th annual list of the wealthiest people in the world.

Source: https://edge.pse.com.ph/