When Big Money Flows from Taps

"If you can find ways to invest in water,

 you will be extremely rich

 because we do have a serious water problem

 in many parts of the world

 like India, China, the southwestern part of the U.S.,

 and west of the Red Sea."

                                                    Jim Rogers, 18 April, 2013

Jim Rogers knows what he's talking about.  India's economy and its people are fast running out of water and much of what does remain is too contaminated, not just for human consumption but for agriculture and even industry.

India has 18 per cent of the world's population but barely 4 per cent of the world's water supply.   India is already the most water-stressed country of the G20 and it shares a border with another enormous, water-stressed country, China.  Both are dependent on rivers fed from the Himalayan watershed and both of them maintain disputed claims to that region.  Just this past weekend a force of Chinese soldiers marched ten kilometres into Indian territory and set up camp.  Both sides actively patrol the line of demarcation even to the point of having patrols shadowing the other side's patrols.

India's usable water is apportioned 80 per cent to agriculture with just 10 per cent available to industry.  It is estimated that, by 2030, Indian demand for clean water will exceed supply by 50 per cent.

It's a situation perfect for the form of disaster capitalism practised by the world's Water Barons - firms like Nestle, Vivendi and people like Jim Rogers.

Jim Rogers, the investor who foresaw the start of a commodity rally in 1999, said he is “extremely optimistic” about investing in water amid scarce supply in countries from India to the U.S.

“If you can find ways to invest in water, you will be extremely rich because we do have a serious water problem in many parts of the world like India, China, the southwestern part of the U.S., and west of the Red Sea,” Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, told reporters in Singapore on April 15.

Shares of water-treatment companies are beating those of gold and oil explorers as governments from China to India boost spending on basic infrastructure to avert shortages threatening economic growth and political stability.

The S&P Global Water Index (SPGTAQD) of 50 companies has surged 162 percent since Nov. 30, 2001, when Bloomberg began compiling the measure. In comparison, the S&P Global Oil Index (SPGOGUP) has risen 137 percent in the same period and the S&P/TSX Global Gold Sector Index (SPTSGD) has climbed about 40 percent.

Unfortunately experience has shown that when the private sector transforms water into a commodity, money talks.  The weakest and the poorest become vulnerable to high prices and market fluctuations.

And if you want an idea of what the titans of the world water cartel really think, the CEO of Nestle lays it out in very chilling terms.  To him the notion of water as a human right is NGO extremism.  Water is a "foodstuff" and his company intends to own it.

What is often overlooked is that these Water Barons are careful to say that they're really just wanting to manage national water assets yet once they're in place their management takes on all the characteristics of ownership and they act accordingly.

h/t Edstock/TheGalloping Beaver