Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) is poised to buy a small stake in the holding company that owns Thames Water, the water network that serves London, the Financial Times reported on Friday, according to Reuters.
The newspaper cited one person familiar with the situation as saying China's $410bn (£265 bn pound) sovereign wealth fund is close to agreeing the acquisition of up to 10% of the UK utility with its holding company Kemble Water.
The deal would be the fund's first acquisition in the UK and follows investment talks in Beijing this week with British finance minister George Osborne.
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The deal would mark the second recent acquisition of a stake in the utility by a foreign investor after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority acquired 9.9% of Thames Water in December from a consortium led by Macquarie Group.
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