S&P affirms KEGOC's 'BB+' rating with stable outlookThe international rating agency S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan Electric Grid Operating Company (KEGOC)'s ratings at "BB+", noting the possibility of government support if necessary, and has assigned a stable outlook.S&P anticipates EBITDA to reach 100 billion tenge in 2023 and 120-130 billion tenge in 2024-2025 due to tariff hikes and favorable regulatory changes in Kazakhstan.The agency projects the funds from operations (FFO)/debt ratio to peak above 45% and then stabilize at around 30% by 2026, as the company will need to take on debt for significant capital expenditures.Additional tariff adjustments by 2025 could counterbalance the costs of a major investment program and expected debt accumulation, supporting the company's performance.S&P has upgraded KEGOC’s standalone credit profile (SACP) from “bb-” to “bb.”The stable outlook reflects S&P’s expectation that KEGOC will uphold its FFO/debt ratio above 30%, even during peak investment cycles, buoyed by enhanced EBITDA and regulatory changes.KEGOC, a subsidiary of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna, operates Kazakhstan's national power grid. As of January 1, 2024, the National Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC holds an 85% stake, with the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund owning 6.87%.As of March 19, the official exchange rate is 449.30 tenge per US dollar. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX