Compañía Boliviana de Energía Eléctrica S.A. – Bolivian Power Company Limited – Sucursal Bolivia
Context: How Bolsa Boliviana de Valores works, and what it makes issuers disclose · Bolivia on the LatAm Power Map
A century-old hydroelectric company quietly generating about a tenth of Bolivia’s grid power — and, investigators argue, quietly exporting much of its profit. COBEE is one of Latin America’s oldest foreign-owned utilities, and it has never stopped being both indispensable and controversial.
| Key Facts — COBEE (BPC.BO) | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Compañía Boliviana de Energía Eléctrica S.A. — Bolivian Power Company Limited — Sucursal Bolivia |
| Ticker / Exchange | BPC.BO / Bolsa Boliviana de Valores (BBV) — bond issuer; equity not publicly traded |
| Headquarters | Calle 15 de Calacoto No. 8089, Edificio FERGAL, La Paz, Bolivia |
| Sector | Electric power generation, transmission & distribution (primarily hydroelectric) |
| Employees | ~152 (2026) |
| Market value (equity) | Not disclosed in available sources (equity not publicly traded) |
| Yearly sales (revenue) | ~BOB 345M (~USD 35M) — approximate, sourced from ASFI bond prospectus data |
| Net profit (after tax) | ~BOB 49M (~USD 5M) — approximate, from ASFI-sourced reporting |
| Net margin | ~14% (our calculation: ~USD 5M ÷ ~USD 35M) |
| Return on equity | Not disclosed in available sources |
| Price-to-earnings | Not applicable (equity not publicly traded) |
| Dividend yield | Not applicable (equity not publicly traded; USD 3M paid to sole foreign shareholder, 2024) |
| Bond rating | AA2 (Pacific Credit Rating) — high payment capacity |
| Website | www.cobee.com |
—
What it is
COBEE is based in La Paz and operates in the electric power generation, transmission and distribution industry. It is a subsidiary of a foreign holding company, established in 1925 to generate and transmit electricity in Bolivia, and it owns and operates hydroelectric plants — most of them concentrated in the Zongo valley above La Paz.
The company supplies roughly 10% of Bolivia’s national interconnected grid, making it small by international standards but structurally important for the La Paz region. It operates in the generation, transmission and supply of electric energy sector, including hydroelectric generation.
—
Who owns it
In November 2023, Energy Infrastructure Investments Corporation (EIIC) — described as a “multi-Latin consortium with 30 years of experience,” registered in the Bahamas — acquired 100% of Inkia Holdings, COBEE’s previous parent. The board was completely renewed with Honduran and Colombian executives, and in April 2024 the controlling shareholder renamed itself Cobee Holding Ltd., without publicly disclosing its jurisdiction of registration.
The 100% stake is held through this offshore holding structure; there is no public float and no minority shareholders are identified in available filings. Searches of public corporate registries in the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands and Panama found no entity registered as “Cobee Holding Ltd.” or similar variants.
—
Who runs it
According to Dun & Bradstreet records, the key principal of the company is Willem Van Twenbeke. Following the 2023 ownership change, the board was completely renewed with Honduran and Colombian executives.
The names of the CFO and chair of the renewed board are not disclosed in available public sources.
—
The money, in plain words
COBEE collects regulated tariffs — prices set by the Bolivian state — for the electricity its hydroelectric plants feed into the national grid. Those revenues run at roughly BOB 345M (≈ USD 35M) a year; after running costs, financing charges and taxes, it keeps about BOB 49M (≈ USD 5M) — a net profit margin of roughly 14% (our calculation), reasonable for a regulated utility with aging, largely depreciated assets.
In April 2025, COBEE approved a new bond programme — Bonos COBEE VI — for BOB 208.8 (US$21)M (approximately USD 21M), its sixth such programme since 2005. The bonds, registered and traded on the Bolsa Boliviana de Valores, are primarily held by Bolivia’s pension fund and domestic banks — meaning Bolivian savers finance the company’s operations.
Over the period 2010–2025, COBEE generated approximately USD 120M in net profits; the Bolivian state captured USD 56M via taxes (47%), while the remaining profit accrued to the foreign shareholder. Under the most recent ownership, distributions have continued: USD 3M paid in January 2024, USD 3M in December 2024, and USD 3M authorised in October 2025.
—
What it is doing now
The company’s most immediate move is the Bonos COBEE VI programme — BOB 208.8M (≈ USD 21M) — approved in April 2025 and in the process of being placed on the Bolivian market. EMIS data indicates net sales revenue grew 14.5% in 2025, suggesting a meaningful jump in regulated-tariff income — though audited 2024–2025 financials have not yet been published in sources accessible to this profile.
The company has not added a single megawatt of new generating capacity since 2008 — seventeen years of flat output while Bolivia’s grid has grown around it. That stagnation, combined with the new bond programme and continued dividend payments to an offshore owner, is drawing fresh scrutiny from analysts and Bolivian media.
—
What to watch
- Ownership opacity. The corporate structure — a “Limited” entity with no publicly confirmed jurisdiction controlling Bolivian electricity assets — raises transparency questions; the “Ltd.” suffix is used across dozens of jurisdictions from the UK and Ireland to the Cayman Islands and Singapore.
- Capacity freeze. Zero new megawatts since 2008. Bolivia’s energy deficit is widening; whether COBEE deploys Bonos COBEE VI proceeds into genuine new generation, or again into refinancing old debt, is the central question for bondholders.
- Pension-fund exposure. Bolivia’s pension fund has already cut its COBEE bond holdings by 78% since 2016, falling to USD 12.8M in 2024, a signal that professional risk managers are reducing exposure.
- Regulatory risk. Every Bolivian government since 2006 has left COBEE untouched. With a new administration focused on attracting foreign investment to ENDE, the state electricity company, COBEE’s century-old concession is back in the political spotlight.
- Tariff revision. Revenue is entirely set by Bolivia’s regulator. Any change in the regulated electricity tariff — up or down — flows directly into COBEE’s margin, making regulatory decisions the single biggest driver of earnings.
—
Sources
- ASFI (Autoridad de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero) — Prospecto Complementario Bonos COBEE V – Emisión 1 (April 2020): asfi.gob.bo — Bonos COBEE V Emisión 1
- ASFI — Prospecto Marco Programa de Emisiones de Bonos COBEE V (2019): asfi.gob.bo — Programa Bonos COBEE V
- ASFI — Ficha de emisor BPC (Registro del Mercado de Valores): appweb.asfi.gob.bo — Tarjeta COBEE
- Bolsa Boliviana de Valores — Estados Financieros y Memorias por Emisor: bbv.com.bo — EEFFEmisores
- El País (Bolivia) — “COBEE: un siglo ganancias extranjeras con agua boliviana,” 29 November 2025 (sourced from ASFI public filings): elpais.bo
- EMIS — Compañía Boliviana de Energía Eléctrica S.A. company profile (April 2026 update): emis.com — COBEE profile
- Market data: EODHD.
This is news, not investment advice.
Read More from The Rio Times