(July 18): A homegrown Singaporean company that owns one of the financial centre’s three seawater desalination plants is struggling to stay afloat. Whether Hyflux Ltd. sinks or swims will matter to creditors and shareholders. The strategic stakes, though, are far higher.

Now that Singapore’s old foe Mahathir Mohamad is back as Malaysia’s prime minister, and once again threatening to renegotiate a 1962 agreement to supply raw water to the city-state, making sure the Hyflux plant is owned until 2038 by a friendly buyer could become an issue of national security. (After 2038, the facility will be owned by the Public Utilities Board, or PUB.)

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