WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

and gas to more than 30 million customers, mainly in Europe. RWE
sold off the water supplier Thames Water to Kemble Water Ltd., a
subsidiary of the Australian Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund
(MEIF), at the end of 2006 and partly divested itself of American Water,
the largest U.S. investor-owned water utility. However, RWE continues
to holds shares in Berlinwasser and the Berlinwasser Holding AG.
w w w . r w e . c o m (German/English)
Saur Group (France)
Saur was established in 1933 and became a subsidiary of the Bouygues
Group in 1984. The company delivers water to almost 31 million
people throughout the world – it serves 6 million customers in France
alone. Although that country has blessed the world with its wonderful
wines and bread, it has also given us the model of water privatisation
which is being forced upon us by the World Bank, EU and many other
neoliberal institutions. Saur has successfully held on to its dominant
position in Africa, particularly in French West Africa, where it is
involved in several controversial projects.
The energy giant’s international holding company, Saur International,
claims to supply a total of 45 million people with energy and water
services combined. This part of the group was created in 1995, to allow
Saur to expand into new markets and take advantage of increased
multilateral funding available to private water utilities. Electricité de
France (EDF), another major corporation that invests heavily in energy
worldwide and that monopolises the French energy market, bought a
23 per-cent share in Saur International in 1995.
w w w . s a u r . c o m / e n (English)
Siemens AG (Germany)
Siemens AG is Europe’s largest engineering conglomerate with
international headquarters in Berlin and Munich, Germany. It operates
in three main business sectors – industry, energy and healthcare – with
a total of 15 divisions in all. Worldwide, Siemens and its subsidiaries
employ approximately 480,000 people in nearly 190 countries and
together they reported global revenue of $110∙82 billion as of 2008. In
December 2008, after being investigated for serious bribery, Siemens
agreed to pay a record $1∙34 billion in fines. The investigation found
questionable payments totalling roughly €1∙3 billion, or $1∙9 billion,
from 2002 to 2006, which triggered a whole range of inquiries in
Germany, the United States and many other countries. In May 2007,
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