For 29 Belize dollars, you can invest in one of Belize’s most profitable companies and earn regular dividends.

Everybody and they ma da Belize has been asking me to review the Hydro Belize offer, so my Belizean people, this one is for you.  But bear in mind, the information in this video is for educational purposes only, and is not intended as investment advice.

So the Hydro Belize IPO is a very rare opportunity to invest in a highly profitable Belizean company.

As you may know, Belize does NOT have a stock market, so opportunities like this don’t come along very often.  Usually, you’d have to have a LOT of money and be very well connected to even hear about something  like this.

But at just BZ$29 per share, and a minimum purchase of just one share, this offer is designed for the average Belizean to be able to invest.

The Government of Belize is taking a page out of Jamaica’s playbook, and seeking to divest select public assets by offering shares to the people of Belize.  First up is Hydro Belize Limited.  If it goes well, they also plan to do the same with the Port of Belize at a later date.  So let’s get into it.

Hydro Belize Limited owns the three hydroelectric dams on the Macal River in the Cayo District – Mollejon, Challilo and Vaca.  Together, these dams supply 51.2 megawatts of power to the national grid.  This is about 27% of the country’s electricity needs.

Now if the name Hydro Belize doesn’t quite ring a bell, that’s because it’s brand new.  You may be more familiar with the name BECOL, Belize Electricity Company Limited.  BECOL has been around since 1991.  In 2001, a Canadian company named Fortis Energy purchased it, and in 2022, they renamed BECOL to Fortis Belize.

In October 2025, the Government of Belize purchased 100% of the shares from Fortis, and renamed it again to Hydro Belize.  The purchase price was $224 million Belize dollars for 8 million shares.  (FYI – The Belizean dollar is pegged at 2 to 1 US, so for my non-Belizeans, just divide by two to get the USD equivalent.)

That works out to $28 Belize dollars per share.  After you add attorney’s fees, transaction fees, etc, it comes up to about $29 a share, which is exactly the price at which the government is selling to the public.  So they’re not seeking to make any profit off the sale.

Also, Hydro Belize’s assets were listed at 222 million Belize dollars in 2024, so the sale price is just slightly higher than its total assets.

Now the government is only selling half of the 8 million shares, and keeping the other half at least for now.  Prime Minister John Briceño has said that if the IPO goes well, they may consider selling more.  The government had actually borrowed the money for the purchase, so all the proceeds of the sale will go to repaying a portion of this debt.

And just to backtrack a little, for those of you wondering what an IPO is.  The letters stand for Initial Public Offer.  It’s simply the first time a company’s shares are sold to the public.

But this is a very interesting test case, because this is usually done through a stock exchange. However, like I mentioned at the beginning, Belize does not have a stock exchange.  So this may present a challenge for investors who want to sell their shares at some point.  There is no easy place to sell.  You would have to just put the word out that you have shares to sell, and hopefully, you’ll find a buyer.

But based on some of the information I’m about to present, I don’t think finding a buyer will be that hard.  The harder task will be finding shares to buy after this offer closes, because I don’t think anyone will want to sell quickly unless they really need the money.  

Now when I say this is a very profitable company, let’s get into it.

 

In 2024, this company made almost 52 million Belize dollars in revenue.  Of that amount, over 34 million was pure profit!  That same year, they paid out 18 million dollars in dividends.

 

At 29 dollars a share, that would have given you a payout of  2 dollars and 25 cents in dividends for each share you own. That’s a dividend yield of almost 8 percent which is very good. You’re definitely not getting an 8 percent return by saving your money in the bank.  This is how you put your money to work.

But 18 million was actually on the low side for dividends from this company.  They’ve paid out much more in previous years, and I soon tell you why.

In 2023, Fortis paid out BZ$32 million in dividends.  That gave the owners a payout of BZ$4 per share – a dividend yield of 14%!

In 2022, they paid a whopping 67 million dollars in dividends!  If you were one of the owners at the time, you would’ve gotten $8.37 per share – a 29% yield!

And think of it this way.  All of that money has been leaving Belize every single year to pay the Canadian owners.  With Belizean owners, those profits can stay in Belize and be reinvested in the economy.  Also, they wouldn’t have to pay out in US dollars anymore.  That will save the country significantly on foreign exchange.

For 2025, Hydro Belize is projecting a dividend payout of BZ$42 million.  The projections for the next five years are for payouts of about BZ$28 million per year.  That would give you BZ$3.50 per share – a dividend yield of about 12%.  Again, you’re not getting that kind of return under your mattress or from the bank.

And of special note, these dividends are completely tax free!  You will pay no income tax, business tax or withholding tax on your payment.

But why have the payouts fluctuated so dramatically?  And what are the risks?  Aha!  Thank you for asking.

Hydro Belize only has one customer.  All the electricity it generates is sold to Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), which has a monopoly on electricity distribution in Belize.  In theory, this is a good thing.  You have a guaranteed buyer for your product for the next 35 years.  Their contract expires in 2060.

But the bad news is that BEL has been having money problems.  A lot of the other energy they buy comes from Mexico.  And Mexico doesn’t play to raise their rates when demand increases.  So BEL is in a lot of debt.  And because of this, they are often late in paying Hydro Belize.  So 2024’s low dividend was a result of getting paid late by BEL.  While 2025’s high dividend is supposed to make up for that.

The other bit of context here is that the government also recently acquired a large stake in BEL from Fortis.  They’ve already made management changes, and one of the priorities is to bring BEL back into profitability.

Another important factor is rates.  Electricity rates are set by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).  However, the PUC has no authority over Hydro Belize’s rates.  Those are established in a direct contract between Hydro Belize and BEL.  

This contract includes an automatic 1.5% increase each year.  But Prime Minister John Briceño has announced that they will be ending that provision.  This is a good thing for BEL and its customers, though not necessarily a good thing for Hydro Belize shareholders, depending on how you look at it. 

It means there will be no guaranteed growth in revenue or profits; but on the other hand, it makes payments from BEL more stable, which should lead to more predictable dividend payments.

Now speaking of growth, Hydro Belize does have some plans to grow the company.  They’re actually looking to venture out into solar energy.  They plan to submit a proposal for a 20 megawatt solar facility, and have already submitted an expression of interest.  They’re just waiting on the PUC now to send out their Request for Proposals.

And that diversification is going to be key to the company’s future, especially considering all the challenges due to climate change.  The world is getting hotter, which means droughts are becoming more frequent.  Hydro Belize can’t produce electricity when the Macal River is dry, and this does represent a risk to your investment.

But overall, I do think this offer is a rare opportunity for Belizeans to invest in a highly profitable Belizean asset.   Once this offer closes, it’s unlikely you’ll get another opportunity like this possibly for some years.

If you want to invest, you have until January 20, 2026 to submit your application at hydrobelize.com.  Priority is being given to applicants who are seeking to purchase less than 15% of all the shares.  This is to ensure that one or a few big buyers don’t swoop in and squeeze out small investors.  

Non-residents can also apply; however, please note that dividends will be paid in Belizean dollars.  As a country with strict foreign exchange controls, it will be on you to get the requisite permission from the Central Bank in order to repatriate your dividends abroad.

Once again, the share price is just BZ$29 per share, and you can buy as little as just one share.