The Government Pension Fund has officially declared its commitment to achieving net zero, while advancing its role as a driver of infrastructure investment to prepare for climate change and an ageing society. Secretary-General Soraphol Tulayasathien said the fund has set guidelines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations, align its investment portfolio with a low-carbon economy, and use its role as an institutional investor to push investee companies toward sustainable business practices, in line with Thailand's goals. The GPF Sustainability Forum 2026 served as a collaborative platform for policymakers, institutional investors, international organisations, the business sector, and academia to set investment directions that generate long-term returns alongside positive impacts on the economy, society, and the environment. The forum proposed accelerating investment in infrastructure that supports climate change adaptation, transition finance, and businesses related to the ageing economy, such as health, technology for the elderly, housing, and financial innovations for longevity. It also proposed developing a Silver Taxonomy as a central standard for classifying elderly-related projects and promoting blended finance mechanisms to support investment in projects that create positive social impact.
Pennon to raise £550 million in rights issue, rebase dividend for water upgrade
Pennon Group said on Wednesday it would raise about £550 million through a fully underwritten rights issue and cut its dividend as its new CEO launched an overhaul of the water utility's operations and stepped up investment. The total dividend for the 2026/2027 financial year will be cut to approximately £125 million from £138 million for 2025/2026, with the lower payout applying to both the interim and final dividends, and after accounting for the cut, the rights issue and a bonus factor, Pennon put the implied underlying reduction in dividend per share at approximately 30%, leaving an expected dividend of around 18 pence per share. The rights issue, launched on Wednesday, will fund more investment in the regulated water businesses and supports about £1 billion of additional investment, with full terms in a separate announcement and an international offering circular published the same day. Capital investment in the regulated water businesses over AMP8 is now expected to be approximately £3.6 billion, around £1 billion more than Pennon's original plan based on the AMP8 Final Determination, and the total investment programme is expected to deliver RCV growth of over 40% across AMP8, up from the 34% set at the start of the period. In a draft decision on Ofwat's 2026 cost change process, the regulator provisionally allowed £230 million, or £190 million in 2022/23 prices, which is 76% of the amount Pennon requested, and Pennon estimates it will make around £170 million of further investment through the 2027 and 2028 cost change processes, subject to Ofwat approval, targeting total additional RCV from cost change of £400 million.
Climate Adaptation & Water › Water Utilities & Infrastructure ▲Capital
Climate Adaptation & Water › Regulated Water & Wastewater Utilities Capital
PNN.LSE · Capital · Negative Pennon launches a £550m rights issue and rebases its dividend ~30% lower to fund higher AMP8 investment.
PNN.LSE · Regulation · Neutral Ofwat's draft cost change decision provisionally allows only 76% of Pennon's requested £230m, with further investment subject to approval.
Gradiant Names India Managing Director, Wins Five Contracts, Plans 40% Team Growth
Gradiant announced a new Managing Director for India, five new design-build contracts, and plans to grow its India team by more than 40% this year. The company named Hari Prasad as Managing Director, India, to lead growth across semiconductors, data centers, and energy; he brings nearly 30 years of water technology leadership, most recently as General Manager, Industrial Water at Pentair. The five contracts span semiconductor, printed circuit board, and solar manufacturing, and include a repeat award from a global chipmaker expanding its fab, with Gradiant delivering ultrapure water, wastewater treatment, and zero liquid discharge systems. Gradiant said its India orders are on track to more than double this year, with revenue set to more than triple, according to Hari Prasad. The company is expanding its India team across engineering, project execution, operations, and digital roles, including at the Gradiant Engineering Center in Coimbatore, which supports projects worldwide.
Krungsri keeps Hold on TTW with 10 baht target, highlights 6% annual yield
Krungsri Securities said in an analysis that TTW Public Company Limited, or TTW, is expected to post net profit of 863 million baht in the third quarter of 2026, down 12% year on year but up 31% quarter on quarter. The water supply business is still growing slightly on higher water sales volumes from TTW and BIE, driven by industrial customers' water demand, but it is being pressured by the profit contribution from CKP, which is expected to be weak year on year because electricity output from the NN2 dam fell about 50% year on year, in line with the dam's inflow, while the gross margin of the SPP power plant declined on higher gas costs. If profit meets expectations, net profit for the first nine months of 2026 would represent 72% of the full-year 2026 figure, slightly below the 75% seen in the first nine months of 2025. For the fourth quarter of 2026, net profit is expected to fall both year on year and quarter on quarter due to a lower gross margin from higher depreciation costs and lower water selling prices, as well as the prospect of a weaker profit contribution from CKP amid El Niño conditions in the second half of 2026. The research team maintains a Neutral recommendation on its unchanged 2027 target price of 10.0 baht, based on the SOTP method. Because TTW's profit trend over 2026 to 2028 is expected to stay roughly flat and unremarkable, the team keeps its Hold recommendation to collect dividends on stable DPS from the water supply business, representing a dividend yield of about 6% per year over 2026 to 2028.
Royal Irrigation Department cuts Chao Phraya Dam outflow to 2,400 cubic metres per second
The Royal Irrigation Department is preparing to gradually reduce the discharge below Chao Phraya Dam to 2,400 cubic metres per second, after water volumes from upstream areas have continued to trend downward. Currently, Chao Phraya Dam is releasing water at a rate of 2,500 cubic metres per second, and the water level above the dam stands at +16.38 metres above mean sea level. The reduction will begin at 08:00 today, 7 October, decreasing by about 20 cubic metres per second per hour until it reaches 2,400 cubic metres per second at 13:00, and that rate will be maintained thereafter. As of 06:00, Station P.17 on the Ping River had a flow of 484 cubic metres per second, while Station N.67 on the Nan River had a flow of 998 cubic metres per second, bringing the combined flow at Station C.2 in Nakhon Sawan province down to 1,915 cubic metres per second. Meanwhile, the Sakae Krang River at Station Ct.19 in Uthai Thani province had a flow of 52 cubic metres per second. At the same time, the department has reduced water intake into the irrigation systems on both the eastern and western sides to a combined 487 cubic metres per second, down from 564 cubic metres per second yesterday, so that management of the entire water system remains balanced and consistent with the declining water volumes. The Royal Irrigation Department will continue to closely monitor rainfall and runoff from upstream areas.
Indiana American Water Completes $24.5 Million Water Main Project in Gary
Indiana American Water has completed a $24.5 million water transmission main project in Gary, Indiana, strengthening service reliability and fire flow capacity across Northwest Indiana. Construction began about four years ago and replaced more than 70-year-old 16-inch and 20-inch mains with new 24-inch to 36-inch mains, including roughly 10,000 feet of water main made up of 6,000 feet of transmission main and 4,000 feet of distribution main. The project is substantially complete, with only a final connection remaining at the company's Borman Park Water Treatment Plant. As part of the work, the utility replaced more than 100 lead service lines connected to the project area, and Rex Construction served as primary contractor. The project is part of Indiana American Water's commitment to invest more than $200 million annually in water and wastewater infrastructure across Indiana.
AWK · Capital · Positive Indiana American Water, a subsidiary, completed a $24.5 million water main project as part of over $200 million in annual infrastructure investment.
Phillip keeps Buy rating on WHAUP with 9.45 baht target on data centre water demand
Phillip Securities (Thailand) said in an analysis dated 2 October 2026 that it expects WHA Utilities and Power, or WHAUP, to post normalised third-quarter 2026 profit of about 499 million baht, flat from the same period a year earlier and down slightly by 0.5% from the previous quarter. The result is supported by higher revenue from the solar business as commercial operation dates continue to come on stream, a share of profit from the Gheco-one power plant returning to above-normal levels, and coal prices trending higher than a year earlier. These factors are partly offset by the water business, where volumes rose but recognition of capacity charges remained below the high base of the third quarter of 2025, while the SPP power plant business still faces pressure from higher natural gas costs, with no adjustment to the Ft tariff for industrial power sales during the period. For the water business outlook in the second half of 2026, capacity charges are expected to be lower than in the first half, but data centres will gradually begin operations from the fourth quarter of 2026 through 2027, which should drive a significant acceleration in water usage. The research team also expects normalised profit for the first nine months of 2026 to be about 1.202 billion baht, up 25.3% from the same period a year earlier, on the back of a still-strong power and utilities business. Phillip therefore maintains its Buy rating on WHAUP with a 2027 target price of 9.45 baht per share.
Climate Adaptation & Water › Regulated Water & Wastewater Utilities ▲Demand
WHAUP.BK · Capital · Positive Phillip maintains Buy rating on WHAUP with a 9.45 baht target price, forecasting 9M26 normalised profit up 25.3% year-on-year.
WHAUP.BK · Demand · Positive Data centres gradually beginning operations from Q4 2026 through 2027 should drive a significant acceleration in WHAUP's water usage.
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