A Chinese sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation, bought a 8.68pc stake in the UK's Thames Water, owned by Kemble Water.
The deal, believed to be worth around £500 million, was agreed, shortly after the British chancellor, George Osborne, paid a visit to China last week and urged the government to invest China's extensive foreign exchange reserves, estimated to be over $3.18 trillion, into UK investment projects.
Welcoming the news, Osborne said,
"It is a vote of confidence in Britain as a place to invest and do business. This investment is good news for both the British and Chinese economies."
The China Investment Corporation, formed in 2007, holds $410 billion of China's sovereign wealth fund.
Writing in the Financial Times, at the end of last year, the corporation's chairman, Lou Jiwei, described Chinese investment in British infrastructure projects as a "win-win" situation.
See Whither 'string of pearls'? (21 Feb 2011)
Thames Water provides water to over 8.8 million consumers in the London and Thames Valley region, and sewerage services to upto 14 million.
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