YTL looking to buy utilities

YTL Corp Bhd may buy utilities in Europe, Asia and Australia to ensure profit growth of 20% a year till 2020, said managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh. 

YTL, with a RM6.2bil war chest, expects interest rates to rise, forcing financially troubled companies to sell assets more cheaply. The group, which bought Britain-based Wessex Water Plc for US$1.77bil in 2002, may be interested in assets such as Edison International’s plants in Australia, Asia and Europe and National Grid Transco Plc’s gas distribution units in England and Wales, Yeoh said.