...October 13, 2023 State support will remain critical for the rating. Cote d'Ivoire Energies (CI-Energies) continues to benefit from an extremely high likelihood of support from the central government. CI- Energies' role as cash flow manager, power generator, and network owner makes Cote d'Ivoire heavily reliant on the company, giving CI-Energies a very important position in the country's power sector. In addition, the company benefits from annual state subsidies linked to value- added tax (VAT) and rural electrification that represent about 50% of its total revenues. In our view, CI-Energies and Cote d'Ivoire are intrinsically linked, which results in two notches of uplift for CI-Energies' stand-alone credit profile of 'b-'. Weak profitability and sustained investment pace hinder Cote d'Ivoire Energies' ability to deleverage rapidly. CI-Energies' share in electricity sales in Ivory Coast remains about 20%, versus the 25% we had expected previously, because of the decrease in hydraulic stock...
