How much potential does the China market have for Veolia?
It’s more than potential — it’s already a [real market] for us. When it comes to the environment, I must say that the [local] governments and central government have a very good understanding now about the difficulties China will face in the future without a proper environment assessment. We see a lot of real opportunities for our business, whether it’s water, energy, public transportation, or waste treatment. China probably offers more opportunities than any other country or region in the world because it’s very much polluted and because of its high population. Q: What model of investment do you prefer in China? A: Build-operate-and-transfer [BOT] projects consume a lot of capital. We have to find financial partners to share the risk. The guarantee may be from Veolia or the project itself. The banks decide on the merits of the project. We don’t necessarily incur a big debt, because we find partners who will take the financing risk. We are mainly the operators, designers, and builders
