Public/private ownership

Somebody was berating the sale of UK water entities to foreign companies on this blog yesterday. The ownership of a country's resources is a serious issue but usually only comes to the fore in times of crisis. Singapore relies on Malaysia for its fresh water, a subject which is often raised when Singapore is worrying about its national security. I was looking at a Dutch company which owned a water concession in Mexico. It was suddenly told by the government that its plant was being taken over by the state. No negotiation. Anyway they came off better than a UK registered mining company which had a mine in Kyrygzstan. When their mine was expropriated by the government, they sent their CFO over to try to negotiate. He was shot dead.