Sabesp is a Brazilian water and waste management company headquartered in São Paulo. It provides water and sewage services to residential, commercial and industrial users in São Paulo and in 363 of the 645 municipalities in São Paulo State, typically under 30-year concession contracts. It provides water to 26.7 million customers, or 60% of the population of the state. It is the largest water and waste management company in Latin América.[3] It provides basic sanitation services, which include all phases (abstraction, treatment, processing, distribution) and the collection, treatment and reuse of sewage. The São Paulo Metropolitan Region and the Regional Systems accounted for 74.5% and 25.5% of the sales and services rendered during the year ended December 31, 2004 respectively. Sabesp also supplies water on a bulk basis to municipalities in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, in which it does not operate water systems to local operators.
In 2009 Sabesp had 15,103 employees for 7.12 million water connections, corresponding to 2.1 employees per 1,000 connections, indicating a high level of labor productivity.
SABESP was founded on Friday, 29 June 1973. Its stocks were first floated on the São Paulo stock exchange in 1996. In 2002-2004 the São Paulo Government sold a further equity stakes, including a listing at the New York Stock Exchange. Today 49.8% of its shares are privately owned. In 2006 a law was passed that allowed SABESP to expand its activities into other Brazilian states and internationally. It has signed cooperation agreements in Spain, Israel and Costa Rica.[4]